Clydesdale Bank trading is steady as it readies for February float

Clydesdale Bank has announced that its trading for 4Q 2015 was in line with expectations, with asset quality continuing to remain strong as it readies to float in London and Australia in February; the bank, which is de-merging from the National Australia Bank (NAB), reported a 6.6% grown in its loan book on an annualised basis. NAB's new Chairman, Ken Henry, also stated that high volatility in equity markets is unlikely to derail the IPO of Clydesdale Bank.

National Australia Bank's new chairman, Ken Henry, says high volatility in equity markets is not likely to derail the initial public offering of Clydesdale Bank in the first week of February.

A collapsing start to the year on markets could be seen as a final headache for NAB's board and management as they seek to break free from the shackles of banking in Britain, which has destroyed billions of dollars in value for investors over the past decade.

How will the political donation ledger look next year now that Ken Henry is NAB chairman? Credit: Andrew Meares

NAB shareholders will vote on the demerger of Clydesdale Bank on January 27. The deal will see 75 per cent of the British small business and retail bank go to NAB shareholders in the form of new shares, while the remaining 25 per cent will be offered to institutional investors via an IPO on the London and Australian stock exchanges. Clydesdale's IPO price will be announced on February 2.

"It will be a considerable relief to everybody on the board and also to management to have the demerger executed," Dr Henry said, while emphasising that NAB remains intensely focused on execution.