NAB coy on calls to sell MLC
By Craig Phillips
NATIONAL Australia Bank (NAB) has played down suggestions that its wealth management arm — MLC — is no longer a natural strategic fit for the group and that it should consider offloading it.
The rebuttal follows claims by Macquarie Research Equities that the group’s new management team should look closer to home ahead of any plans to sell its UK assets in order to shrink and boost profitability.
“History has shown that a bank in trouble will rationalise and sell assets. [And] in NAB’s current stressed operational position, it no longer appears a natural owner of MLC… Some of the strategic benefits become moot as the organisation focuses on its core competence — retail and corporate banking,” the research states.
Asked to comment on whether the claims held up, an NAB spokesperson says “it’s for them [analysts] to have theories and for us to run our business”.
Beyond that, the bank refused to comment specifically on whether it would consider selling MLC, which is valued between $7 billion and $9 billion.
“We don’t comment on speculation about corporate issues, and wouldn’t comment on such matters ahead of disclosing those matters to the market,” the spokesperson says.
“If you ask us if we’re happy with MLC then the answer is yes, as it’s increased in value and provides us with the strategic platform for retailing a wider suite of financial products.”
Macquarie Research says it would be a good time for NAB to sell its wealth management arm as there is no shortage of potential buyers seeking consolidation.
And with markets on the rebound, valuation multiples are likely to expand in the short-term, and are unlikely to be repeated as the industry matures.
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