NAB acquires TierOne Bank of Nebraska

$76mln deal will add 69 US branches to NAB's US network and $2.2bln in new deposits.

National Australia Bank is pushing deeper into the US banking market after acquiring struggling Nebraska bank TierOne at the weekend.

TierOne Bank, which has headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska, will add 69 branches to NAB's US network and $2.2 billion in new deposits.

NAB is believed to have paid about $US76 million for the business through a deal struck with the US banking regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

The US expansion comes amid heavy speculation in the London financial press that NAB has pulled out of the bidding for 318 branches owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, leaving Spain's Santander banking group the frontrunner.

Without citing sources, The Financial Times and The Guardian both reported NAB had exited the sale talks on worries over the medium-term growth prospects of the British economy and its banks.

View the full story in the Herald Sun.