NAB’s full-year profit is down 94 per cent after losses from the sale of life insurance and UK banking firms.

The National Australia Bank’s full-year profit slide comes in no small part from losses associated with the sale of CYBG (formerly known as Clydesdale bank) and the NAB Wealth life insurance division, which dragged it to a half-year loss of $1.74 billion.

But the bank says its cash earnings – a figure excluding losses and other one-off costs and gains - rose 4.2 per cent to $6.48 billion, roughly in line with many analysts’ expectations.

A big weight on all the bank's key profit measures was its bad and doubtful debts, charges for which rose 7 per cent to $800 million over the year.

NAB said this was mostly due to a small number of write-downs on some particularly large loans to Australian businesses.

Whatever the cause, credit quality did deteriorate in the second half, with doubtful debts up 13.3 per cent – or $50 million – on the six months to March.

The bank’s final dividend remains the same as last year at 99 cents per share, sending the proportion of underlying profits paid out to shareholders to 80.8 per cent.

The proceeds from NAB’s sale of an 80 per cent stake in its life insurance business saw its capital position strengthen in the second half, leaving its common equity tier one ratio sitting at 9.8 per cent.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn said the sale made the bank’s structure stronger, simpler and more focussed.

“These changes have been achieved while delivering an improved operating performance and maintaining a strong balance sheet, sound asset quality and tight control of costs,” Mr Thorburn said.

“This is against a backdrop of favourable Australian and New Zealand economic conditions, but also rising funding costs and global uncertainty.”

Profit drops have also been announced by ANZ and Macquarie.