National Australia Bank is under growing pressure to cut its dividend when it reports its interim results on Thursday, after ANZ Banking Group surprised the market with the first reduction in its dividend in seven years, a move that counter-intuitively pushed up its share price.

ANZ's decision to reduce its interim dividend to 80¢ from 86¢ at the last half was a "difficult decision", chief executive Shayne Elliott said, but a necessary one to "rebalance" the bank for "a more subdued, lower growth world".