Communication

It's important to not just have a good strategy, but to be able to communicate it as well. NAB seems to have doubters on both fronts: The Australian

Key graf:

The question now is whether the NAB narrative is understood.
Mr Clyne believes it is, but admits investors are tough critics who are keen for answers.
"We outlined our strategic view and what's critical to us is that we consistently deliver against that," Mr Clyne said.

Remember too that NAB has better resources than most to try and explain its strategy.

The sub-prime mess still has an impact

Today, the National Australia Bank announced an increase in its provisioning by $830 million for exposure to CDO (collateralised debt obligations) which house some of its exposure to the US sub-prime market. NAB's share price dropped by over 10% on the announcement. The disclosure related question, of course, is when did they know about this?

NAB's pro forma earnings

Adele Ferguson takes apart National Australia Bank's "cash earnings" figure. Once again, the issue with firms reporting non-GAAP, or pro forma earnings, is that of comparability. Comparing NAB's results with those of competitors for this reporting season, and comparing NAB's results over time.