National Australia Bank CEO Ross McEwan says today’s massive $3.5 billion capital raising is a “decisive” move by the bank rather than an emergency cash grab, ensuring the bank is in “very good shape” as we dive deeper into uncertain economic times.

NAB brought forward their half-yearly results by 10 days and revealed its after-tax profit had dropped by 51% compared with the corresponding period from 2019.

Additionally, the bank said it was slashing dividends from 83c to 30c a share.

The $3.5 billion capital raising is the largest to date from an ASX company and can be seen as a strong sign that Australia’s economic outlook sits between grim and gruesome.

“The economic scenario put out by the government and ourselves doesn’t look good given what we’re facing,” Ross McEwan tells Brooke Corte on Money News.

“We as a bank need to be very, very strong going in so we can be there for customers when they need us,”

Click PLAY to hear more from NAB CEO Ross McEwan: