The head of the National Australia Bank has defended the decision to cut its dividends and promised that there will be zero job cuts.
The bank announced last week it is lowering its interim dividend by about a quarter, after a similar move by the ANZ.
NAB has not reduced its dividend since 1991.
But the bank's chief executive, Cameron Clyne, has told ABC 1's Inside Business, it is the right thing to do at the moment.
He says he is trying to position the bank to cope under a variety of economic scenarios.
"We think it's important to set the balance sheet up conservatively, so consequently we've made that cut - it's not something that we take lightly," he said.
"Just about every forecast that's been made including by myself in the last 12 months has been proven wrong that's the nature of what we are dealing with we are seeing unprecedented change.
Mr Clyne says job cuts are not part of moves to deal with the financial crisis.
"With regard to staff cuts we don't think that's the right thing to do at the moment," he said.
"If efficiencies do present themselves we'll take them, by the same token we also intend to recruit, so I think that's the right thing."
The head of the National Australia Bank says it is hard to tell how the economy will perform over the next 12 months.
The bank is forecasting the economy to go backwards by 1 per cent this year.
By ABC Australia.
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