2020 CEO Survey: Ross McEwan, National Australia Bank

It’s important we tap this spirit of co-operation to create the necessary change to build a stronger Australia, says National Australia Bank’s Ross McEwan

NAB Chief Executive Officer Ross McEwan. Photo: AAP Image

What are the three enduring lessons or changes to flow from COVID?

Australia has done a terrific job of navigating COVID, better than most countries, thanks to swift, effective and co-ordinated action across layers of government, industry, regulators and the Reserve Bank. We’ve shown what’s possible and it’s important we tap this spirit of co-operation to create the necessary change to build a stronger Australia on the other side of this crisis.

Lockdown saw our whole economy switch to digital overnight, accelerating a trend that would’ve otherwise taken years. Customers have shown their preference for digital products and services, with online retail sales up 60 per cent on a year ago. All businesses, NAB included, need to ensure we’re investing in technology and digital services and keeping pace with these rapidly changing expectations.

The way we work has changed forever. We’ve shown that office workers don’t need or want to work in the building five days a week. People and teams still need to come together but a more flexible way of working is certainly here to stay.

How would you rate the shape of the Australian economy as we head into the New Year?

A couple of months ago, I did not expect that we could get back to pre-COVID levels by late 2021. That’s my expectation now. With business conditions and consumer confidence rebounding, there’s growth opportunities for business, as well as new jobs and new opportunities on the horizon. While next year will still be challenging and some businesses and some people will struggle for a while yet, it’s a terrific overall position for Australia to be in, at this point.

What three reforms are needed to sustainably grow the economy?

Business will drive our economic recovery and we’ve got a big role to support, as Australia and New Zealand’s biggest business bank. The Federal Government has done a lot of the heavy lifting already and the instant asset write-off and wage subsidies will be significant contributors to rebuilding Australia’s economy. It’s critical that we keep building business confidence, to encourage investment and job creation, in the long-term. To achieve that there are three areas I’d focus on:

• It’s time to revisit the challenging but critical area of holistic tax reform, to reconsider corporate tax cuts and bring forward planned income tax cuts. We need to make sure Australia stays globally competitive and further encourage economic activity, investment and growth. We welcome the consultation by the NSW Government on stamp duty.

• We need to deal with tough conditions SME’s were facing even before COVID hit. These businesses drive half of Australia’s economic output but we’ve made it too hard and too complex for them to hire new staff, access supply chain opportunities and navigate regulatory red tape.

• There is an opportunity for Australia to modernise and digitise our economy. As one of the safest and cleanest places to live in the world, we now have the chance to attract the best and brightest from overseas and support growth in hi-tech domestic manufacturing, in areas like medtech and agtech.

What are the three best growth opportunities for your company in 2021?

We continue to see opportunity to invest in and grow NAB – safely and for the long-term. We have a clear strategy, which has identified opportunities across markets we know and understand really well.

• We want to achieve clear market leadership in our Business Bank and Corporate & Institutional business – and grow with our customers through the economic recovery. We are investing in our frontline bankers and improving our business lending processes.

• We have a good Personal Bank but with opportunity to radically simplify and digitise, including making the home loan and unsecured lending processes much faster and more straightforward.

• We also have an opportunity in our digital bank, UBank, to win new customers and deliver a market-leading experience.

What impact will digital transformation have on your company?

When the pandemic hit Australia, we saw in just a few weeks a change in customer behaviour towards digital banking that otherwise might have taken years to occur. In the first month of lockdown we saw a big increase in the number of e-commerce merchant facilities opened and our internet banking registrations jumped 30 per cent. It really underscored the importance of the investment we’ve made in technology in recent years, with the goal of being simpler and faster. That investment has helped our colleagues, too. It meant we were able to go from a few thousand people working away from the office every day, to over 30,000 people performing their roles remotely, very well. Looking forward, we are migrating more NAB applications to the cloud, to become even more resilient and efficient and a better everyday banking experience for customers.

How would you rate business, State and Federal Government performance this year?

I’ve said all along that there is no playbook for a crisis like this and I think governments have done incredibly well in very trying and unpredictable circumstances. Overall, Australia has handled this virus better than most other developed countries, both in economic and in health terms. Governments have had a clear focus on supporting incomes and businesses too, which means Australia is already well positioned to recover economically. Businesses, including NAB, got on with helping our customers during a very difficult time and found new ways of doing things. Co-operation and partnership between business and government will always produce a better outcome than leaving the responsibility to government. I think that partnership has served Australia well in this crisis.