National Australia Bank has today been named by Fortune Magazine in its Companies That Change the World List, the first Australian company to be included in the list.

The Change the World list recognises companies that have had a positive social impact through activities that are part of their core business strategy.

NAB’s inclusion was based on the redesign of its approach to collections. NAB Assist, has together with its partner agencies adopted an innovative approach to helping customers deal with financial hardship, reducing the time to consider hardship cases form 21 days to 21 minutes, and introducing additional support targeting specific causes of financial hardship, such as family violence.

Submissions for entry in the list are evaluated on the basis of social impact, business results and innovation.

NAB’s Chief Customer Officer, Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, Andrew Hagger said that inclusion in the list was international recognition of NAB’s efforts to be Australia and New Zealand’s most respected bank.

“It’s great to see the improvements we have made for our customers receive this international recognition,” Mr Hagger said.

“The work done by NAB Assist and its partner agencies clearly demonstrates how, by having our customers at the heart of all we do, we will continue to build a stronger and more customer-focused business.

“Big companies can’t do everything themselves, we can learn a lot from others – and the partnerships through which we deliver hardship assistance are a great example of that.

“I would like to thank our partner agencies and our own people at NAB, for their focus on improving the way we work for our customers.”

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