Boss of NAB Bank issues a chilling warning as he steps down from his position - ... trends now
The outgoing chief executive of Australia's second-largest banks has warned the nation's housing crisis will cripple the economy.
National Australia Bank chief executive Ross McEwan issued the stark warning on the last week of his five-year tenure at the national bank.
Mr McEwan warned Australia's 'critical' housing shortage would slow economic growth and the influx of new migrants.
A record 548,742 migrants moved to Australia in the year to September, sending population growth to its highest level since 1952 at 2.5 per cent.
NAB chief executive Ross McEwan has issued a stark warning about Australia's housing crisis before his impending retirement
Mr McEwan will step down from his role on April 2 with plans to retire on July 1
'We just don't have enough of it,' he said. That will slow down the growth of this economy because if you don't have houses for migrants to come into, we'll soon be cutting off the migration levels coming into the country.'
Mr McEwan said combating Australia's housing crisis would improve productivity levels and, in turn, support the Reserve Bank's efforts to ease interest rates.
'If we can solve [the housing issue], we can keep this economy growing at a good pace and keep productivity lifting in the marketplace, which will make us better as we export overseas as well,' he said.
'If we don't, well, I think Australia will slow down accordingly.'
Mr McEwan will step down from his role on April 2, and NAB's head of business and private banking, Andrew Irvine, will take over following a transition period.
Earlier this week, Barefoot Investor Scott Pape questioned why Australia was welcoming a record intake in the middle of a crippling housing crisis.
He wrote: 'A decent question to ask our politicians would be:
