Banking royal commission: NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn says sorry for ‘letting you down’

NAB boss Andrew Thorburn has taken to Twitter to apologise to customers for misconduct that could be construed as criminal.

NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn speaking to local farmers in Wagga, NSW.

National Australia Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn has taken to the social media platform Twitter to apologise to customers for misconduct that could be construed as criminal.

With NAB witnesses facing gruelling cross-examination this week over its practice of charging fees for services that the bank failed to deliver, Mr Thorburn said in a video message that NAB was focused on serving customers “with honour, to be good stewards, and to partner with you and back you to go forward in your business and in your life”.

This week we’ve been confronted at the Royal Commission with examples of where we have failed to serve our customers with honour. I’m sorry. And my commitment is that we will learn and get better, so we can once again be a bank you respect and trust. pic.twitter.com/yMGq7icgVu

— Andrew Thorburn (@AndrewThorburn) August 9, 2018

“This week, once again, we have been confronted in the royal commission with letting you down, where we have not met that standard. I’m sorry for that,” the NAB chief said.

NAB’s mistake, he said, was to fall short of its usual practice of finding mistakes, fixing them, and in the right circumstances paying compensation.

Follow the banking royal commission live here

Mr Thorburn promised “to listen, to learn and to get better, so that we can truly be a bank that you can rely on, that you can respect, and that you can trust”.

He closed the video by disclosing his email address and urging customers to contact him directly with any feedback.