Yorkshire Bank to go public in £2bn listing with Clydesdale

National Australia Bank has reportedly appointed Morgan Stanley to lead the transaction, three weeks after chief executive Andrew Thorburn confirmed plans to withdraw from the sector.

City sources told The Telegraph that Macquarie, Credit Suisse and Bank of America Merrill Lynch were favoured to work alongside Morgan Stanley on the listing, which is set to raise £2bn for the Melbourne-based group.

In October, Mr Thorburn said NAB was examining “a broader range of options including those provided by public markets” in relation to offloading the banks.

The group has weathered losses from product and conduct issues.

NAB’s 2014 full-year cash earnings fell almost 10 per cent to $5.18bn, largely due to provisions for the mis-selling of useless or toxic products to households and small businesses in the UK. It has set aside more than £1.23bn to date.

The group has been “clearing the decks” ahead of an exit. It axed 1,400 jobs as part of restructuring and quarantined £5.6bn worth of troublesome commercial real estate loans.

A spokesman at Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank declined to comment.