NAB set up committee to consider Walter proposals

National Australia Bank (NAB) has said its board has approved a plan to set up a committee to manage the bank's proposed extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and consider resolutions submitted by board member Catherine Walter.

Last week, the bank's non-executive directors called for the removal of Walter from the board, saying they had lost confidence in her after her criticism over the independence of a PricewaterhouseCoopers report into the rogue trading scandal which cost the bank A$360m (€223.3m).

In a statement today, the bank said its board, which met in Sydney today, has appointed chief executive John Stewart to the committee, along with Sir David Fell, who is chairman of the bank's National Irish Bank and Northern Bank divisions.

They will meet next week to decide on a date of the EGM. Walter has counter-proposed that all non-executive directors step down as their terms expire and the board will be seeking legal advice on this solution.

Separately, NAB said today in a statement that its chief financial officer Richard McKinnon plans to retire towards the middle of the year and the bank has commenced a global search for a replacement.