The National Australia Bank is looking to raise the performance of some of its underutilised retail bank divisions, notably personal loans and credit cards, Gavin Slater, the bank's group executive for personal banking, told a media briefing yesterday.  Slater was giving a preview of his presentation to the UBS financial services conference in Sydney later that day.He said that, in the past, customers used the bank's digital channels and mobile banking capabilities for payments and balance enquiries. That interaction was now becoming more involved."We're starting to see a trend, and we're expecting it to grow, for customers looking to self-originate simple financial products such as personal loans or credit cards, and to open transaction accounts," Slater said, "but when it comes to more complex financial products, like a mortgage, or taking out more protection or needing more advice on products there will always be a need for face-to-face interaction."Slater also said that, because of the growth in areas such as digital and call centres that offer alternative ways for customers to interact with the bank, having a larger branch network and retail footprint was no longer the strategic advantage it might have been in the past.He disclosed that NAB originated $3 billion worth of mortgage financing through its call centres last year - and expects to double that this year.Slater said NAB had also had a great deal of success lately in insurance, with cross sell rates in the very high 90s for mortgage protection products (mostly an MLC life insurance product).NAB is also running a campaign looking to boost its cross sell of general insurance, promoting a product underwritten by Allianz.In looking at areas where the bank is underweight Slater singled out - apart from mortgages - the bank's personal loans and credit card businesses. Total market shares for these businesses are sitting at about 11 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.Slater also mentioned that NAB was looking to deploy comprehensive credit reporting to keep on top of the requirements of the new regime, but was unable to give a commencement date.  "You don't want to be an outlier," he said.