National Australia Bank

Introduction

For any person who first moved to Australia, for education, business or any other purposes, one of their first concerns is always which bank/s are the most trust-worthy. For those who know the answer to this question, a typical response would be, “any of the big four”, which includes the ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Bank, and the National Australia Bank.

National Australia Bank is often mentioned as one of the “Big four” in the banking industry in Australia today. It has one of the highest stock values of all banks in Australia at A$31.07 per share and the company is valued at $72,676,037 as of September 5, 2005 (ASX Quotes, 2005). In the following pages we will take a look
Major changes were forced to take place globally; these include technological innovation and international competition entering the market.

The National is well-positioned with the innovations and trends appearing in the banking industry of Australia in recent years— the sharing-ATMs, the online internet banking, electronic payments and new options and services available during ATMs use, e.g. the mobile recharge service and etc.

In 1999, according to the ACI worldwide news group, Vodafone Australia and National Australia Bank provided mobile phone recharge service and later follow by other major communication companies including Optus of SingTel and Tesltra.

Major Players

Major Players in the industry includes the “big four” bank: ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Bank, the National Australia Bank, while some international banks have entered the market for years including HSBC.

As of today, September 5, 2005, National’s biggest competitor should be Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd., each of its share being A$37.48 and value at $98,851,782. ANZ share is at A$22.14 and valued at $93,121,785 while Westpac is at A$20.18 and valued at A$114,637,775. (www.citigroup.com.au, 2005)

For the Commonwealth Bank, it is one of Australia’s leading financial institutions with businesses in New Zealand, Asiz and the United Kingdom. Commonwealth is well positioned for future growth and aim to provide accessible banking and financial services for