NAB boss Cameron Clyne keeps the sharks at bay SWIMMING with sharks is a professional hazard for most senior executives. National Australia Bank boss Cameron Clyne does it for fun. The ocean-swimmer loves nothing more than a challenge and the solitude of the deep blue ocean. He has completed the famed 20 kilometre Rottnest Island swim in the shark-infested water off Perth, the mile-and-a-half race across the freezing San Francisco Bay to Alcatraz and the 10 mile Maui Channel relay swim in Hawaii. There is a bit of sensory depravation out there - you don't meet too many analysts or journalists. And anyway the sharks are friendlier," he said. After four-and-a-half years at the helm of one of the nation's big four banks, Mr Clyne said he has no plans to step down and the rebuilding of the bank's reputation - the key plank of his tenure - is still a work in progress. The recent appointment of Merrill Lynch boss Craig Drummond into a senior role at NAB sparked a fresh round of speculation about the next boss. Mr Clyne is very relaxed about the future with the appointment of the former investment banking boss a case of the right man for the job. A stable team is good but so is a fresh perspective from outside. This is a very analysed market and these sorts of appointments will always lead to speculation," he said. Career planning has never been something the former management consultant has gone in for and unlike many senior executives regards 5-year plans as hogwash. Whatever your next career move is dependent on how you leave your current job. If I'm fired tomorrow my career opportunities will be somewhat different than if I hang around for a considerable period and the banks is regarded as a success," he said. And Mr Clyne's legacy will be judged largely on the success or failure of the lender's ``break up" campaign. So-far it seems to have paid dividends with customer numbers breaking through the 4 million mark in April. Cash earnings from the personal banking business have also risen 40 per cent from $743 million in 2010 to $1.04 billion last year. But the high-profile campaign launched on Valentine's Day 2011 was just a public recognition of the internal work that had been going on for at least two years before that, Mr Clyne said. It was backed-up by National Australia Bank having the lowest standard variable rate among the Big Four for more than four years, which has seen its home loan book grow at a faster rate than its major rivals. Since the program began in June 2009 the bank's home loan customer base has risen 14 per cent to just under 600,000 - even if the lower rates has put pressure on profit margins on loans. The other major banks have slowly reeled in NAB's pricing position on mortgages and it is now joint-lowest with Commonwealth Bank and only marginally ahead of ANZ. Investors however like what they see and after years of lagging its rivals, NAB has been the star performer of the majors on the stock market this year. And analysts tip it as a growth stock despite the slowing economy and its ongoing struggle about what to do with its underperforming UK banks. It's shares are up 24 per cent while Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ have all risen 18 per cent since the start of the year. The bank is however at a critical juncture as it looks to bed down major cost cutting policies aimed at reducing costs by $800 million a year by 2018 and lowering staff numbers through natural attrition. This is taking place against a backdrop of stormy waters with global uncertainty again on the rise but Mr Clyne maintains there is still more to be done to rebuild NAB and the strong focus on reputation will continue. He is more bullish than most business leaders about the outlook for China to achieve it's target of 7.5 per cent growth this year and is upbeat Australia's growth will move back towards trend over the next couple of years. We won't see the highs of the pre-GFC period but credit growth should slowly grow," Mr Clyne said. But the recent closure of debt markets, which wasn't seen by many, is a clear sign that instability is still around. On balance I'm optimistic as there is more going right than wrong but people have made those predictions before, including myself. The UK banks are seen by most analysts as the biggest headache facing NAB, but Mr Clyne remains adamant they are on the mend. "I haven't seen to many people running around saying what they want is a UK bank in their portfolio and with the lack of options all we can do is mitigate risk," Mr Clyne said. Nomura banking analyst Victor German warns NAB's UK regulatory issues are not likely to dissipate soon and will create a medium-term drag on earnings. But Mr Clyne maintains the lender is in a strong position as a result of its focus on driving down costs and improving the IT systems will passing some of these savings onto customers. The bank claims that an average NAB mortgage holder with a $300,000 home loan would have saved more than $1000 over the past four years as a result of the bank having the lowest SVR compared with rivals ANZ and Commonwealth Bank. The axeing of bank and credit card fees would have saved a further $400 in monthly fees. The breaking up campaign wasn't the start, it was more about showing customers what we have been doing but those campaigns only work if the staff believe in them. There will always be a focus on the SVR but for us it is much deeper it is about relationships and reputation. The former PricewaterhouseCoopers consultant is however no wide-eyed executive having beaten the hot-favourite at the time and now Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour to the top job at NAB only months after his 40th birthday. And as a former rugby union lock he can dominate most rooms and rarely backs down. Mr Clyne never played with Sydney University Rugby Club's most well-known alumni - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey, who famously traded punches at training one night. But he admits to not being afraid of a bit of biff on the pitch in the past. Mr Clyne is now more of the gentle giant and behind the executive facade and almost $8 million pay packet is a very down to earth person. The eldest of three sons from the working-class suburb of Penrith outside Sydney regularly takes public transport to work. And until a few years ago was the proud owner of a Holden Cruze, which he eventually traded in for a second hand car he bought from one of his junior employees in Melbourne and then drove back to Sydney himself on a Friday night. Why would I sit in traffic getting to the docklands head quarters in Melbourne when I can jump on the tram. It is this sort of no nonsense approach that has seen NAB move from the ugly duckling of Australia's major banks to a key mover and agenda setter. There may be more bumps ahead as the banking sector negotiates a slowing economy and a government pulling on all levers to fill its dwindling balance sheet but Mr Clyne believes the leadership team's ability to keep moving means it will be able to keep the sharks at bay.