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It’s been a long road back for IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) after the education provider was hit hard by COVID-19 last year.

IDP provides international student placement services and English language testing services.  Although the company has been starved of its staple — international students — the IDP Education share price has climbed almost 33% in the past 12 months.  

One school of thought among analysts says that the longer the pandemic drags out, the stronger the IDP Education market position will be at the end of it. This is because many smaller competitors will fail to survive the crisis. Commentators are confident that the industry will rebound for those with strong balance sheets.

Foundations there to take advantage of a rebound

Although down on most performance metrics, IDP Education’s half-yearly report said that English language testing volumes were broadly in line with those experienced in the final month of 2019 before the pandemic. In fact, International English Language Testing System (IELTS) volumes rebounded from April/May lows to record a 49% increase.

The company told the recent Macquarie Australia Conference presentation that IELTS performance was an indicator for the health of the industry.

IDP Education also noted that a strong balance sheet of $299m and undrawn working capital facilities provided the foundations for further investment. The company is also planning to expand staff and increase marketing spend to drive future performance.

IDP Education stated that: 

With unmatched services, global footprint and data insights, our teams are ready to lead the industry rebound.

Brokers back IDP Education

Morgans is expecting IDP Education to grow its market share meaningfully once the pandemic passes. The broker remains positive for the company, placing an add rating and $28.48 price target on its shares.

Goldman Sachs also believes that IDP Education will be in a strong position when conditions return to normal thanks to its strong balance sheet and access to capital markets.

IDP Education share price snapshot

It’s been a long road back for IDP Education shares after the price crashed to $11.56 in March last year. The IDP Education share price peaked at $28.41 in February 2021 and is trading at $22.81 at the time of writing.

Despite the optimism for a rebound, IDP Education currently has a price to earnings (PE) ratio of 86.43, which means that the share is priced at an optimum. The Australian Consumer Services industry average PE ratio is 22.

The post Why has IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price risen 33% in the last 12 months? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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With populations around the world ageing and technologies and treatments improving, demand for healthcare services is expected to grow strongly over the next few decades. In light of this, the healthcare sector could be a good place to consider investing with a long term view.

But which ASX healthcare shares should you buy? Two that are rated as buys right now are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

Nanosonics could be a good option for investors in the healthcare sector. It is a leading infection control specialist which provides the industry-leading trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes.

If demand for healthcare services increases, there’s a likelihood that ultrasound usage will increase in line with this. This, combined with further market share gains, would bode well for Nanosonics’ growth over the next decade and beyond.

At present, management estimates that 80,000 patients are protected from the risk of cross contamination every day because the ultrasound probe has been high-level disinfected with trophon. This is driving strong recurring revenue growth from the consumable products the system requires.

Positively, management isn’t resting on its laurels and is aiming to launch several new technologies that are targeting unmet needs. These are believed to have similar addressable markets to the trophon product. If successful, this could provide Nanosonics with a significant runway for growth, especially in a post-pandemic world heavily focused on infection prevention.

Analysts at UBS are positive on the company. They currently have a buy rating and $7.20 price target on its shares.

Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME)

Another healthcare share to consider is Pro Medicus. It is a healthcare technology company that provides healthcare organisations with radiology information systems, picture archiving and communication systems, and advanced visualisation solutions.

Pro Medicus has been a positive performer again in FY 2021 despite the pandemic. In February, the company reported a 7.8% increase in revenue to $31.6 million and a 25.9% jump in underlying profit before tax to $18.76 million.

Since then, the company has won a number of lucrative long term contracts with major healthcare institutions. In addition to this, it still has a large pipeline of sales opportunities that could be converted in the near future.

And thanks to the quality of the company’s technology and the structural shift away from legacy systems, Pro Medicus appears very well positioned for growth over the long term. This could be bolstered by its recent collaboration with healthcare giant Mayo Clinic.

That agreement will serve as the framework for collaboration between the two parties to facilitate development and commercialisation in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), leveraging the company’s Visage AI Accelerator platform.

In response to the news, Goldman Sachs retained its buy rating and $53.80 price target on the company’s shares. It commented: “We believe the strategy of partnering with the leading academics helps to maximise the value and competitive advantage of PME’s technology proposition.”

The post 2 quality healthcare options for ASX investors appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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James Mickleboro does not own any shares mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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There are some ASX dividend shares out there that have been growing their dividends for several years in a row.

The business with the longest dividend growth streak record is currently Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) that started in 2000.

But these two ASX retail shares started growing their dividend several years ago:

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)

Nick Scali is one of the largest furniture retailers in Australia with a national store footprint that is steadily growing.

Citi currently rates the business as a buy with a price target of $12.05 on the business. The broker points to continuing strength of Nick Scali sales with a good order book.

Nick Scali has a high gross profit margin and relatively fixed cost base leading to significant operating leverage on the back of sales growth.

The company points out that minimal growth capital expenditure is required for a showroom roll-out, allowing the company to grow whilst maintaining adequate liquidity for capital initiatives such as property purchases.

Those property purchases lead to reduced occupancy costs and increased the ‘defensibility’ of the store network in strategically important locations, according to management.

Nick Scali’s business model reportedly generates a leading retail industry operating cashflow margin, achieving average earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to cashflow conversion of over 100%.

The ASX dividend share says that the cashflow profile allows the company to maintain a high dividend payout ratio which has averaged 80% through time.

It has grown its dividend each year since 2013 and it currently has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 8.1%.

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)

JB Hi-Fi is another retail business that has experienced a large increase in sales and profit during FY21 with all of the COVID-19 impacts.

The broker Credit Suisse has rated JB Hi-Fi shares as a buy with a price target of $57.39. That suggests a potential increase of the JB Hi-Fi share price of around 20% over the next 12 months.

JB Hi-Fi controls two major Australian retail brands. JB Hi-Fi is a leading retailer of technology and consumer electronics. The Good Guys is a leading retailer of home appliances and consumer electronics.

There are five unique competitive advantages that JB Hi-Fi believes it has: scale, a low cost operating model, quality store locations, supplier partnerships and its multichannel retail capability.

JB Hi-Fi says that it has the lowest cost of doing business of major Australian listed retailers and international consumer electronics retailers. It says that it has a productive floor space with high sales per square meter. JB Hi-Fi has a continued focus on productivity and minimising unnecessary expenditure. This allows it to offer consistently low prices and compete with all competitors, old and new. 

The ASX dividend share has grown its dividend each year since 2013. It currently has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 8%.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with large yields that have paid consistent payouts appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Field Solutions Holdings Ltd (ASX: FSG) share price is rising during late afternoon trade. This comes after the regional telco carrier announced it’s received additional funding from the federal government.

Heading towards market close, the Field Solutions share price is up 6.67% to an intraday high of 16 cents.

What did Field Solutions update the ASX with?

Investors are buying Field Solutions shares following the company’s latest release.

In a statement to the ASX, Field Solutions advised it has received $4.1 million from the federal government’s Regional Connectivity Program Fund (RCP).

The Regional Connectivity Program Round 2 (RCP2) is a $106 million investment initiative to develop telecommunications infrastructure projects outside major cities. It’s targeted at partnering with companies such as Field Solutions to provide connectivity for rural, regional and remote areas.

According to its statement, Field Solutions has been awarded further funding to build network infrastructure across four local government areas. They include regional towns Bourke, Carrathool, and Leeton in New South Wales, as well as Mareeba in Queensland.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2021, with revenue generated from the networks expected from H2 FY22 onwards. Field Solutions estimates revenue of roughly $11 million over the 7-year period through its build, own and operate agreements.

Pleasingly, the company noted it’s been successful in 90% of its RCP applications and has been awarded a quarter of the total funding pool. This includes the previous Regional Connectivity Program Round 1 (RCP1), which saw $83 million handed out to deliver next-generation regional connectivity.

Field Solutions CEO Andrew Roberts commented:

These new networks will be the catalyst for FSG to deliver the next generation of rural connectivity, enabling 5G, mobility and IoT specifically for agribusiness and rural, regional and remote Australia.

We look forward to working with many underserviced local communities as part of RCP2.

Field Solutions share price summary

Field Solutions shares have accelerated by more than 370% during the last 12 months, and are up by 260% year-to-date. The company’s share price reached a multi-year high of 21 cents last month, before some profit taking took place.

Based on current valuation, Field Solutions has a market capitalisation of about $89 million.

The post Why the Field Solutions (ASX:FSG) share price is up 6% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price has hit a new 52-week high
• Is WAM going ham on Magellan High Conviction Trust (ASX:MHH)?
• Why the Minotaur Exploration (ASX:MEP) share price is up 22% today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price is falling this afternoon. This comes after the company released an update about its DARRT-2 clinical trial.

At the time of writing, Noxopharm shares are swapping hands for 69 cents apiece, down 1.43%

What did Noxopharm announce?

Investors are selling Noxopharm shares after digesting the clinical-stage drug development company’s latest release.

According to Noxopharm, it is on track to undertake a multi-national study for its flagship cancer-fighting drug, Veyonda. The drug is used in conjunction with radiotherapy.

Titled DARRT-2 (Direct and Abscopal Response to RadioTherapy), the phase 2 trial aims to treat late-stage prostate, breast and lung cancer patients for whom traditional treatment options such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy have failed.

The trial seeks to generate the phenomenon of the abscopal response in cancer patients. This is when a low dose of radiation not only shrinks a targeted tumour, but triggers an immune response that results in other tumours melting away. Noxopharm hopes the cancer cells could be eradicated within a matter of weeks.

The phase 2 trial is seeking to recruit 100 participants across 15 sites in Australia, the United States, France, and Hungary. International contract research organisation Parexel has been appointed to oversee the study.

Management commentary

Noxopharm CEO and managing director Dr Graham Kelly said:

The abscopal response is a highly attractive cancer treatment goal because it provides the opportunity for a major anti-cancer outcome from a generally safe and minimally invasive treatment. The challenge is that it is a very rare phenomenon that to date has proven difficult to reproduce on a consistent basis.

Recent research has pointed to a reason for this being the need to block a certain type of repair process called autophagy of mitochondrial DNA damaged by the radiation. Other research points to idronoxil, the active ingredient in Veyonda, blocking autophagy. It is the combination of that effect and the drug’s known immuno-stimulatory effects, together with the earlier DARRT-1 trial data, that provides the confidence that we might have the ability to achieve consistently higher response rates to make DARRT a practical treatment option.

Noxopharm share price summary

Despite today’s dip, Noxopharm shares have surged by more than 250% over the past 12 months. The company’s share price reached a 52-week high of 99 cents in February, before treading lower from profit taking.

On valuation grounds, Noxopharm has a market capitalisation of roughly $201 million, with approximately 288 million shares outstanding.

The post Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price edges lower after clinical trial update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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After gaining 5% this week, the Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price is at its highest point of the last 12 months. At the time of writing, Dexus shares are swapping hands for $10.96 – 3% more than yesterday’s closing price.

Let’s take a look at what the real estate group has been up to lately.

Yesterday’s news

Yesterday, Dexus announced it has established a relationship with Australian Unity, in particular the Australian Unity Healthcare Property Trust (AUHPT).

The relationship has seen Dexus make a $180 million investment in the Trust’s capital raising. Each unit in AUHPT will cost $2.60. Dexus’ investment represents around 7% of AUHPT’s equity.

The company will now have the opportunity to invest in parts of Australian Unity’s healthcare development pipeline. This represents around $1 billion of proposed greenfield and brownfield developments.

Dexus’ CEO Darren Steinberg commented on the new relationship:

We are confident in the outlook for healthcare real estate and the investment in AUHPT provides us with an efficient way to increase our exposure to this attractive asset class at an appealing price.

What else has Dexus been up to?

The first time we heard from the company this year was in February when it released its results for the first half of the 2021 financial year.

Despite a small lift in revenue, it recorded a 55.5% decrease in net profit after tax compared to the previous corresponding period – caused by net revaluation gains of investment properties.

The results saw its share price end that day 3.5% lower than it had the previous session.

In March, Dexus announced it had made an agreement to merge its $10 million Dexus Wholesale Property Fund (DWPF) with a $5 million AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund (ADPF).

The news spurred the Dexus share price 2.8% higher than on the previous day’s trade.

Finally, on 6 April, the Dexus share price dropped 0.9% on news the company had sold its office tower at 10 Eagle Street in Brisbane to Marquette Properties. 

The sale brought in $285 million, which Dexus is using to repay its outstanding debt.

Dexus share price snapshot

It’s been a good year so far on the ASX for the Dexus share price, which is currently 16.5% higher than it was at the start of the year.

It has also gained almost 11% since this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $11.7 billion, with approximately 1 billion shares outstanding.

The post The Dexus (ASX:DXS) share price has hit a new 52-week high appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Brokers believe Wilson Asset Management (WAM) has been adding Magellan High Conviction Trust (ASX: MHH) to its latest listed investment company while it readies its initial public offering (IPO).

In yet another listed investment company, commonly referred to as a LIC, WAM is bringing WAR to the ASX boards. Don’t worry, not literally war… WAM Strategic Value will be the latest LIC to hit the ASX, trading with the ticker ‘WAR’.

Looking for an ASX bargain in Magellan’s MHH?

WAM’s Strategic Value LIC is the asset management company’s latest investment opportunity. The focus of WAR will be on identifying, investing in and closing discounted asset opportunities. In Wilson’s words, “Essentially, we are focused on identifying and investing in $1 of assets for 80 cents.”

To find such investments, the company will be looking at securities that are trading at discounts to assets or net tangible assets (NTA), corporate transactions, and dividend yield arbitrages with franking credit benefits.

According to brokers, Magellan High Conviction Trust might be making an appearance as one of the company’s holdings. The exchange-traded trust fits the discounted criteria.

On Friday last week, the trust held a net asset value of $1.658. However, the Magellan High Conviction trust closed the day at $1.455 – representing a 12.2% discount.

The trust managed by Hamish Douglass holds investments in some of the world’s largest companies, including Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

Despite holding some US tech stock titans, the ASX-listed MHH trust has returned a meagre 4.86% in the past 12 months.

Where to next for WAM’s WAR?

WAR is wrapping its offer up this afternoon at 5 pm. According to the prospectus, if all goes to plan the investment company will list on the ASX on Friday 25 June 2021.

Furthermore, the offer was capped at $225 million with 13.2 million shares on offer. Therefore, when the company lists, the benchmark price would be $1.25.

Once listed, investors will likely find out whether or not Magellan High Conviction Trust was added.

The post Is WAM going ham on Magellan High Conviction Trust (ASX:MHH)? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Facebook, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), and Facebook. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Minotaur Exploration Ltd (ASX: MEP) shares are having a bumper day on the ASX on Thursday. At the time of writing, the Minotaur share price is rocketing 21.74% to 14 cents.

Let’s take a look at why the diversified exploration company’s shares are surging.

What’s driving the Minotaur share price?

Minotaur Exploration is a contributing partner to the Great White Kaolin Joint Venture (GWJV) with a 25% stake in the project. Adromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN) is the manager of GWJV and owns the remaining 75%.

The Minotaur share price is surging after the company announced that the GWJV had secured a binding supply and purchase agreement.

According to the release, the GWJV will provide Great White PRM coatings and polymer product at a sale price significantly higher than what was assumed in its pre-feasibility study back in 2020.

As the manager of the GWJV, Adromeda’s ASX announcement provided additional details regarding the offtake partner and contract details. The Adromeda share price is also rallying by more than 20% today.

What’s next for the GWJV?

The Great White project is rich with halloysite. This is used as a porcelain ceramic additive and potentially within a range of new technology applications.

Andromeda Metals previously announced a $4 million research partnership with the University of Newcastle’s Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials (GICAN) to research carbon dioxide capture through the use of halloysite nanotubes.

However, as of now, halloysite’s main applications are in ceramics, where it adds more whiteness, transparency and strength to porcelain.

Andromeda Metals is currently progressing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) to assess the economic viability of the project. The DFS report is expected to be release in July 2021.

Minotaur Exploration share price snapshot

Minotaur Exploration has a market capitalisation of just $57 million. As a microcap with a portfolio of early-stage exploration projects, its share price can be very volatile depending on the exploration outcomes of its prospects.

2020 was a solid year for the Minotaur share price, which rallied from 5 cents to 17 cents for a gain of around 240%. Despite struggling in recent months, and slipping to an 8-month low of 10.5 cents in mid-May, today’s news has put Minotaur shares back within reach of their 52-week high of 24 cents.

The post Why the Minotaur Exploration (ASX:MEP) share price is up 22% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price hasn’t moved much over the last month. But is it an opportunity today?

NAB’s shares have dropped 1.7% over the last month. However, it has gone up 13% over the last six months to the current price of $26.63.

It has come a long way from the approximate low of around $15 of the bottom of the COVID-19 crash.

How has NAB been tracking recently?

The latest insight that investors have seen into the performance of the business was the half-year result that was released a month ago.

It generated $3.21 billion of statutory net profit. NAB generated $3.34 billion of cash earnings, which was an increase of 94.8% compared to the first half of FY20. There was an increase of cash earnings of 35.1% compared to the first half of FY20, excluding large notable items.

NAB’s balance sheet continues to improve. Its group common equity tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 12.37% was up 90 basis points from September 2020. The pro forma CET1 ratio was 12.75%, reflecting the estimated impacts from the agreed sale of MLC Wealth and BNZ Life, less the acquisition of 86 400.

The personal banking division saw 14.1% growth of cash earnings to $859 million, benefiting from reduced credit impairment charges, home loan repricing and lower funding costs.

Corporate and institutional banking saw a 15.7% increase in profit to $782 million. Earnings increased with improved outcomes across most key drivers.

The New Zealand banking division saw a 9.65% increase of cash earnings to NZ$616 million. It saw higher earnings with revenue increasing due to growth in lending and improved margins, combined with reduced credit impairment charges.

However, the business and private segment suffered a 10.3% drop in cash earnings to $1.22 billion. This reflected lower revenue mostly due to the low interest rate environment, and higher operating expenses.

NAB remains cautious about the outlook. It said at the time of the result release, that the economic outlook had improved, but the sustainability of the recovery remains uncertain at this stage and customer impacts are uneven. To reflect that, the collective provision remains “prudent” at 1.50% of credit risk weighted assets.

AUSTRAC problems

A few days ago, NAB announced that it had been informed by AUSTRAC that it has identified serious concerns with NAB’s compliance with the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) laws.

AUSTRAC advised in a letter at the start of June 2021, that it is AUSTRAC’s view that there is “potential serious and ongoing non-compliance” with customer identification procedures, ongoing customer due diligence and compliance.

However, in the letter, AUSTRAC stated that it has not yet made a decision about whether or not enforcement action would be taken. AUSTRAC also said, at this stage, it is not considering civil penalty proceedings and that this decision is “reflective of the work undertaken” by NAB to date.

Is the NAB share price an opportunity right now?

Most brokers think that NAB shares are now a hold, such as Morgans. It has a price target on NAB of $27.50. The broker thinks the looming AUSTRAC investigation will impact the NAB share price.

The broker Citi has a price target on NAB of $26.20, it has also highlighted the AUSTRAC investigation, though it doesn’t think it will lead to any actual penalties.

According to Citi, NAB shares are valued at around 14x FY21’s estimated earnings.

The post Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price an opportunity today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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It looks like National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is tipping its hat to the old saying: “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” In reports circulating yesterday, NAB has made an eyebrow-raising new hire amid its investigation by financial watchdog AUSTRAC.

The Australian Financial Review reported that NAB has employed former AUSTRAC CEO Paul Jevtovic to spearhead compliance within the bank.

Bringing in the big guns

Between beefing up its secretive internal Project Apollo and making strategic hires, NAB looks to be upping the ante amid AUSTRAC’s formal investigations into the bank’s possible breaches of Australia’s anti-money laundering laws.

Reportedly, in September, Jevtovic will jump headfirst into compliance as NAB’s Executive Money Laundering and Reporting Officer.

Jevtovic served as CEO at AUSTRAC for two and a half years before finishing in April 2017. Since then, he’s been working for HSBC – originally as head of financial crime threat mitigation, before shifting to regional money laundering officer and head of financial crime.

While the timing is uncanny, ASX-listed NAB had reportedly been working on hiring Jevtovic for months.

Addressing NAB’s elephant in the accounts

No doubt NAB will be looking to tap the former AUSTRAC CEO’s knowledge of financial crime mitigation. It’s an area Australia’s second-largest bank has been grappling with over the years.

Sources have claimed NAB is working with technology more than 20 years old. It’s further alleged analysts are sorting through bank statements manually to determine suspicious activity.

Although AUSTRAC is not considering civil proceedings against the bank at this stage, the “serious concerns” of potential breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing legislation still linger.

In the official letter to NAB, AUSTRAC said:

In particular, the seriousness of self-disclosed matters presented to AUSTRAC over a prolonged period combined with the accompanying closure rates is concerning.

NAB shares underperform big four peers

Shareholders will be disappointed to know NAB shares have underperformed against other members of the big four banks. While the banking sector has enjoyed a strong rebound over the past year, the NAB share price has been the laggard of the bunch.

National Australia Bank shares have climbed by around 32% in the past year. Meanwhile, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) has rallied by nearly 42%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) has surged 38%, and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has climbed by 35%.

The post NAB (ASX:NAB) hires former AUSTRAC CEO while under investigation appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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