By Praveen Menon
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!(Reuters) – National Australia Bank said on Wednesday its chief executive of more than four years, Ross McEwan, would leave the bank and be replaced by Andrew Irwin, currently head of its business and private banking.
Australia’s second-largest bank said McEwan will retire from executive roles from April 2 and hand over the reins to Irwin, a British-Canadian dual citizen. Irwin has been NAB’s group executive business and private banking since 2020.
Before joining NAB, Irwin was Head of Canadian Business Banking at the Bank of Montreal. He held several roles at BMO for more than 12 years.
Irwin will also take over the role of chair of the Australian Banking Association from McEwan on behalf of the bank.
“Andrew is ideally suited to lead NAB into its next chapter of growth and performance for our customers, colleagues and the communities we serve,” NAB Chairman Philip Chronican said in a statement.
Irwin said in the statement that NAB is “on the right path to becoming a better bank” and will work to continue executing on its strategic ambitions.
McEwan’s exit comes at a time when heads of other major Australian banks, such as ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott, are also likely to step down.
McEwan led NAB for four eventful years. He joined the bank in December 2019 with a mandate to make changes in the wake of a public inquiry into misconduct in the financial sector.
He also led the bank during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted operations and led to changes in banking systems globally.
NAB shares were down 1% at the open, while the broader index was up 0.7%.
NAB reported a rise in its annual cash profit in November as it benefited from higher interest rates and growth in lending and deposits.
(Reporting by Praveen Menon in Sydney; Additional reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Stephen Coates)
Source: ca.finance.yahoo.com