ANZ committed to Asia: Elliott
(6 June 2016 – Australia) ANZ Bank’s chief executive Shayne Elliott has stated that the bank will continue to be a “major player” in Asia.
The comments came during a dinner in Hong Kong for the bank’s clients last Tuesday, where Elliott spoke.
Elliott attempted to placate customers’ concerns of the bank exiting the region as it continues to divest of under-performing assets. He said that it was natural for a period of consolidation to occur after rapid growth and expansion.
“Let me assure you that our intention is to remain a major player in Asia — and here in Hong Kong — by supporting our institutional customers,” Elliott said.
“It’s part of who we are as a bank; it’s part of our DNA.
“To be frank, though, despite my best intentions, I accept this will seem ambiguous at times.
“Our story in Asia has been exclusively about growth and expansion; now to be sustainable for the longer term it’s about consolidation and simplification.”
Since his appointment at the beginning of 2016, the bank had been trying to lift return on equity by downsizing it low-returning institutional loan book in the Asia Pacific region.
Additionally, it has looked for buyers for around A$5 billion of partnership interests in the region, although the task had been complicated by various issues, including allegations of corruption at the 24 per cent-owned Malaysian bank AMMB Holdings.
Elliott said “Most of those things have gone the other way. There’s no realistic path to control in any of those and so they’re past their best-buy date in a sense.”
“We’re open to looking to exit those things over time. There’s no hurry because they’re all in pretty good shape and they generate a return.”
Additionally, Elliott expanded on his previously outlined strategy for the future direction of the bank – highlighting four focus areas. He said the bank will focus on areas where it could deliver “exceptional” customer outcomes and still make a decent return.
In institutional banking, Elliott said he wanted ANZ to be the best bank in the world for customers, driven by trade and capital flows in the region.
ANZ Bank’s second priority was to create a simpler, stronger and more agile group and rebalance the allocation of capital.
Third, ANZ wanted to build an innovative, adaptive and values-led culture, and develop leaders capable of navigating a rapidly changing environment.
“While this isn’t a new priority for me ... it’s one that in today’s environment is more important and more urgent than it’s ever been,” he said.
“Conduct and values are absolutely critical in any business and around the world our industry is quite rightly in the spotlight and being asked to change.”
Lastly, Elliott’s final goal was to “dramatically” improve the customer experience in the digital age through more convenient banking solutions.
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