New Clydesdale boss to start next week

David Duffy, the man charged with taking over as chief executive of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks as they prepare for their sell-off by parent company NAB, is set to begin work after receiving regulatory approval.

Glasgow-based Clydesdale Bank Plc announced today that Mr Duffy, the former boss of Allied Irish Bank, will take up his new role on June 5.

He takes over at Clydesdale as it prepares for its £2 billion stock market float and he succeeds David Thorburn, who stepped down in February after four years in the role.

As well as heading up AIB, Mr Duffy was also until recently President of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland and a director of the European Banking Federation.

He said: “I’m delighted to be joining Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks at what is a pivotal point in the banks’ story.

“With our parent company having announced that it intends to pursue a demerger and IPO of our business by the end of this calendar year, I’m looking forward to leading the banks through this exciting new phase in their development.

“I passionately believe in our strong future prospects as a standalone bank in the UK market and in the journey underway to build a better bank for customers.

“My key focus will be to further build on the strength of the business and ensure Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks provide a very real challenge to the big UK banks as a distinctive customer champion.”

National Australia Bank (NAB) the parent group of the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, which it had acquired in 1987 and 1990 respectfully, stated last October and exit from its UK operations was an “absolute priority”.

NAB had reported a 1.1 per cent fall in full-year profits to AUSD $5.3 billion (£2.9 billion), despite strong trading in its core business, after taking one-off charges totalling AUS$1.5 billion (£823 million) for the year, the bulk of which were booked by the UK business.

NAB announced in early May its intention to de-merge the UK business by the end of the year, though the parent group will retain between 70 and 80 per cent of the shares in the UK banking division with the remainder to be offered to institutional investors.