Clydesdale parent quits London Stock Exchange

CLYDESDALE Bank's parent company, National Australia Bank, is to de-list from the London Stock Exchange in a bid to cut costs.

Gorgie-born NAB chief executive John Stewart said the move was part of a plan to streamline operations and vowed it would have no effect on its UK business.

Cancelling the listing will save the bank the annual listing fee of £120,000.

The banking group's restructuring programme has already seen it cut 1700 jobs in the UK and close more than 100 branches.

Mr Stewart, whose NAB group posted a record annual profit of £1.78 billion last month, said: "We are fully committed to our staff, customers, shareholders and communities in the UK, and we look forward to continuing to grow our business in the region."

Barry Gardner, a Scottish spokesman for National Australia, said the de-listing would affect stockbrokers more than the bank's almost 13,500 UK shareholders.

He said: "Nobody had traded in NAB shares on the London exchange for over a year, and with globalisation you can trade shares irrespective of where the shares are listed. We are looking at ways of improving the processes for UK shareholders to make our shares easier to trade."