NAB defends partial rate cut

Andrew Thorburn will tell a parliamentary committee the bank balanced the needs of all stakeholders.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn will tell a parliamentary committee that his bank balanced the needs of borrowers, savers, investors and shareholders when it decided not to pass on in full the Reserve Bank’s latest rate cut. Mr Thorburn says he will accept an invitation to address the committee after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced on Thursday that the banks will be called on once a year to give a full account of their dealings, including interest rate policy.

“We set a rate for mortgage customers that reflected the balance between all our stakeholders. If we don’t get this right, it is inevitable we will lose business, and become a less competitive bank,” Mr Thorburn said in a statement.

AAP