Evolution of Strategic Risks – A Case Study

Patrick McConnell

In an integrated case study, this chapter describes the evolution over a long period of time of the corporate strategies of the National Australia Bank (NAB). The purpose of this discussion is not to criticise the board and management of NAB but to highlight the strategic risks that this particular bank faced and the failure, in some instances, to properly manage those risks. The purpose is to illustrate how strategies and, importantly, strategic risks ebb and flow over time and throw up different sets of problems for the directors and management of large firms. Note that the case study focuses on the major strategic initiative of international expansion and, other than technology projects, does not cover the bank’s main Australian operations, which were profitable throughout the period.

NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK

National Australia Bank Limited was established in Melbourne in 1858 and over the following 100 years, with a few name changes and mergers, expanded beyond its local base, at the time the administrative capital of Australia, to become a truly national bank. The consolidation of smaller banks into larger national banks in Australia mirrored that of other countries where