National Australia Bank moves to settle class action on fees

SYDNEY, Nov 12 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank said on Wednesday it was moving to settle a class action brought against Australia's major banks over fees for late payment, opening the door to millions of dollars in compensation for disgruntled customers.

The class action, Australia's largest, was brought in August by law firm Maurice Blackburn against NAB, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Westpac Banking Corp , Westpac units St George and BankSA, and Citigroup (Swiss: C.SW - news) Inc's Citibank over late payment fees that it claims were excessive and unfair. Across the industry, the class action could be worth as much as A$250 million ($217 million), according to the law firm.

NAB said it had filed papers with the court last Friday seeking approval to open and close the class action, a significant step towards reaching a potential settlement.

"We know that banking customers want to be treated fairly, which is why five years ago NAB made the decision to remove many of the fees and charges that annoy customers the most," NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn said.

Since taking the reins in August as chief executive of Australia's fourth-biggest lender by market value, Thorburn has moved quickly to clear up problem areas.

He has made exiting NAB's underperforming UK operations a priority, offloaded a minority stake in its U.S. unit via a public offering, sold a large portion of NAB's non-performing UK loans and shuffled key management roles. (1 US dollar = 1.1502 Australian dollar) (Reporting by Lincoln Feast)