SYDNEY, July 29 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank NAB.AX on Wednesday said it had completed its divestment of its stake in U.S. subsidiary Great Western Bancorp GWB.N and would book a A$67 million ($49 million) loss on the sale in its full-year accounts.
The sale of the shares, mainly to institutional and retail investors, will help NAB lift its Tier-I ratio by about 34 basis points, bolstering its position as the most capitalised of Australia's major banks. ID:nL3N10802H
Net proceeds from the full sale were A$1.46 billion, representing a A$396 million loss relative to Great Western's book value, it said.
The latest sale represented 28.5 percent of Great Western's stock. In October last year, it held 72.4 percent. ID:nL3N0SA555
Under CEO Andrew Thorburn, NAB has made withdrawing from offshore businesses a priority as it looked to improve performance and shareholder returns. ID:nL4N0XX5JB
($1 = 1.3622 Australian dollars)