£2bn float for Yorkshire Bank

YORKSHIRE and Clydesdale banks are heading for a £2bn-plus stockmarket float next year as owner National Australia Bank prepares to exit the UK.

According to The Telegraph, the Australian lender has appointed investment bank Morgan Stanley to lead a listing of Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks and is expected to hire a handful of other banks to the advisory line-up in the coming weeks.

City sources said Macquarie, Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were favourites to land senior roles on the listing.

Melbourne-based National Australia Bank bought Yorkshire Bank in 1990 and Clydesdale in 1987. Last month, chief executive Andrew Thorburn highlighted a need for “greater urgency” in dealing with low returning assets.

The UK banks contributed to a fall in group profits as a result of higher charges in relation to the PPI and interest-rate swap scandals. NAB announced a 1.1% drop in net profit to A$5.3bn and saw cash earnings fall 9.8% to $5.18bn in the year to September.

The latest results for Yorkshire and Clydesale saw annual pre-tax earnings rise by 90% to £203m, while the charge for bad debts was down £78m (49%) to £80m.

Yorkshire and Clydesdale have 2.7m customers and 330 branches.