Status quo unsustainable, admits NAB

Adverse views towards banks may have merit National Australia Bank acknowledged it its submission to the Senate banking inquiry.

NAB wrote that it "recognises that in the broader Australian community there exists considerable concern about some bank behaviours and practices.

"In many instances, this community concern is well-founded and has existed for a number of years.

"The disenfranchisement of the customer base from an industry's success is an unsustainable situation.

"The reasons for customer dissatisfaction need to be identified and addressed with meaningful responses."

The reference to "meaningful responses" provided NAB with an opportunity to list its pricing and product initiatives of the last 18 months, a period in which the bank has forced the industry, however grudgingly, to modify some of its most annoying practices.