National Australia Bank Merges With Bank Of New Zealand For FX Trading

Overseas branches of Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) are to merge with branches of the bank's majority shareholder, National Australia Bank (NAB), on October 1, resulting in a consolidation of treasury operations, sources in London say.

BNZ, known as "the people's bank", was the last major New Zealand bank to surrender to foreign ownership when NAB acquired 90 percent of its shares last November. NAB executives, described by some London sources as "tough-minded accountants" carried out a "strategic