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NAB writes down $1.3 billion

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The National Australia Bank has written down $1.3 billion ahead of the release of its full-year results at the end of October.

The move will see NAB's cash earnings for the year ending 30 September 2014 slip by around 14 per cent to between $5.1 billion and $5.2 billion.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn said the announcement of the writedowns was "disappointing".

A majority of the balance sheet adjustments relate to conduct charges within NAB's troubled UK banking operations.

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Payment protection insurance provisions made up the bulk of the adjustments, representing AU$605 million after tax.

NAB has also been forced to provision AU$359 million in relation to its UK interest rate hedging products for the September 2014 half-year.

The bank has recorded a AU$220 million annual impairment charge of capitalised software following an assessment.

NAB has also taken a deferred tax asset provision in its New York branch of AU$132 million, and a research and development tax policy offset resulting in a AU$28 million cash earnings decrease.

The writedowns have all been 'taken above the line' on NAB's balance sheet to the approval of investment analysts who were briefed yesterday morning.