(Adds leverage ratio, background on sector-wide government inquiry, share movement)
Feb 14 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank NAB.AX on Wednesday said it expects to meet the Australian Prudential (LON:PRU) Regulatory Authority's (APRA) target for common equity Tier 1 capital by January 2020.
In July, APRA raised the target for major banks' Tier 1 ratio by 150 basis points to at least 10.5 percent in an attempt to protect the Australian finance sector from shocks.
Melbourne-based NAB is running behind its three main rivals - Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX , Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX and Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX - to meet the regulatory requirement. this month, NAB had said its CET1 ratio was 10.2 percent as at Dec. 31. also said its leverage ratio was 5.4 percent as at end December, above the regulator's proposed minimum leverage ratio requirement of 4 percent.
The banking sector in Australia is under scrutiny after a government backed inquiry into the sector began earlier this week following years of scandals including interest-rate rigging, poor financial advice and alleged money laundering. shares were up 0.5 percent while the benchmark equity index .AXJO was slightly lower.