NAB partners with Oracle for IT overhaul

Australian Banking & Finance, Sept 15, 2008

National Australia Bank (NAB) has selected Oracle for the first phase of its overhaul of its core banking systems.

"Over the past three years a significant program of work has been underway to successfully turnaround the Australian business," NAB Australia chief executive officer Ahmed Fahour said.

"This work was completed in 2007.

"We are now well positioned to embark on the next wave of our strategy."

Phase one, which is part of a five year project, will involve the launch of a new business called Star Direct.

The Star Direct business will include a specialised, low cost, high service direct bank that will be launched later this year.

"This is a significant investment for NAB and we plan to take a very phased and measured approach over the next five years," NAB chief information officer Michelle Tredenick said.

"Our existing IT systems have served the business well to date, however they are not sufficient to support our future strategic direction.

"We have strong support throughout the organisation, with the program to be managed and governed by the Australian executive team.

"We are confident that the time for change is now."

While Oracle is delivering the platform for the Star Direct business, NAB will plan the second and subsequent phases of the strategy "in parallel", the bank added.

"This planning is expected to take approximately six months to complete," NAB said.