Yesterday, the bank announced the sale of 80 per cent of its life insurance business to Japanese insurance giant Nippon Life for $2.4 billion.
Speaking to ifa, NAB executive general manager for wealth advice, Greg Miller, said the $300 million investment will allow the bank to improve efficiencies, especially across its advice network.
“A range of things will see an absolute benefit to our advisers inside NAB and across our licensees,” Mr Miller said.
“Whether it be from removing any customer pain points, making it simpler for the customer, introducing digitisation [or] how do advisers efficiently service their clients. All of those are key elements [that] we want to bring forward to our licensees,” he said.
According to NAB, the $300 million investment will also be used to “modernise and simplify” the bank’s super and investments offering.
Commenting on the sale to Nippon Life, Mr Miller insisted there will be no changes to the business or changes for advisers.
As part of the sale – which will see 20 per cent of the business retained by NAB – the bank and the Japanese insurer have formed a 20-year distribution agreement, which will see the insurance business led by an Australian management team.
“Through 2016, it will be business as usual as we formulate the partnership,” Mr Miller said. “We are sending the message to advisers today and for the next few weeks the fact that it is business as usual as far as we are concerned.
“We are the same products, the same set of operations and processes, the same set of adviser tools and the same relationship managers. It will be a continuation for their current circumstances.”
Yesterday, NAB also announced a full-year group profit of $6.34 billion.
The ubiquitous Q & A would have gone out to staff and advisers last night I guess. The upside is that a life company will own the life business and not a bank so there should be a change in culture and expectations.