The head of NAB says he is optimistic about next year, despite some concerns.

National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan says that while the economy will cool next year, he is optimistic about the prospects for both Australia and New Zealand.

He believes that the majority of customers will enter the downturn in fairly good shape.

“It is clear that 2023 will be a year of slower growth than 2022, and challenges will continue to emerge and evolve,” Mr McEwan told NAB’s annual meeting in Melbourne this week. 

“As we look to the year ahead, we expect to continue to have very low unemployment and robust business conditions, though they will be slower than 2022. 

“Clearly there are headwinds and the economy is slowing, but we still expect growth.”

The bank says that resilient business conditions and a return to higher levels of migration mean Australia is well-positioned to deal with headwinds coming from rising interest rates and high inflation. 

“When I spoke at this meeting last year, I was optimistic that after two years of COVID-related interruptions, Australia’s economy would rebound strongly in 2022,” Mr McEwan said.

“While there have been setbacks, it has been tremendous to see that Australian businesses have had a very good year overall. 2022 saw businesses rebound with strong credit growth of 14.7 per cent.”

Bank chiefs Peter King at Westpac Banking Corporation and Shayne Elliott at ANZ Banking Group have recently warned that the post-Christmas period will become more challenging.

However, from their own perspective, the banks are well-capitalised and say they will manage the fastest rate-rising cycle in three decades.