Thorburn stands down as Clydesdale Bank boss

Clydesdale Bank chief operating officer David Thorburn. Picture: PA

Thorburn joined Clydesdale, which is owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), in 1993. He was appointed to the executive leadership team in 2002, and became chief executive in 2011. NAB said today that a succession process was “well underway”.

Clydesdale Bank board chairman Jim Pettigrew said Thorburn had led Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks through a challenging period.

“David successfully completed the UK strategic review in 2012, which was undertaken to identify the changes needed to deliver sustainable and satisfactory returns from the UK banking business. As a result of David’s efforts, the UK banking business is in much better shape, with the 2014 results showing improvement in a number of areas including asset quality and a lower risk loan book,” said Pettigrew.

“On behalf of the board I’d like to thank David for his significant contribution to Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks over many years.”

Thorburn said having been chief executive for almost four years, now was the right time for him to stand aside and allow for new leadership.

“I’m proud of the work my team and I have undertaken during my tenure as CEO, and I leave knowing that Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks are in much better shape,” he said.

“However, having been CEO for almost four years, I came to the view that it was in the best interests of the business for me to stand down at this time and allow an injection of new leadership to take place.

“I believe that the business requires a five-year commitment from me, particularly as NAB looks at options to accelerate the exit from its UK banking business and I felt this was a significant undertaking.

“This has been a challenging but incredibly rewarding role, and I would like to thank my colleagues for their hard work, and I wish the Board and the executive team every success in the future.”