NAB says to combine Australia, group CEO roles

MELBOURNE, Dec 18 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB.AX), the country's biggest lender by assets, will combine the roles of group chief executive and Australian operations chief, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.

Incoming Chief Executive Cameron Clyne will take on the combined role, while current Australia operations chief executive, Ahmed Fahour, will move to a group role to work on operational, commercial and strategic challenges.

Clyne said the goal was for him to be closer to customers, employees and managers of the Australian businesses, which represent the biggest part of the group's revenue and profit. "This does not lessen our focus on our offshore operations such as the Bank of New Zealand, Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, as these operations have very strong, stable local management teams, independent boards and strong local regulators," he said in the statement.

NAB announced in July that Clyne would take over as group CEO in January, replacing John Stewart. (Reporting by Sonali Paul)