(29 November 2012 – Australia) This week ANZ announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland’s Vontobel Group to bring together capabilities to develop a distinctive private bank offering for the bank’s clients across the Asia Pacific.The planned alliance will also provide Vontobel with the opportunity to further grow distribution in Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific through ANZ’s network in 30 countries.
ANZ Global Wealth and Private Banking chief executive, Joyce Phillips said: “This MoU is another step in bringing our super regional strategy to life in ANZ Private Bank.
“It provides a pathway to develop a distinctive relationship with Vontobel that will deliver a unique offering for our private bank clients in Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The aim is to provide clients with access to world-class investment capabilities to support our transition to an investment-led client offering,” Phillips said.
Vontobel chief executive, Zeno Staub said: ‘We are very proud to take this step toward entering a strategic partnership with ANZ and we are looking forward to working together to enhance the private banking experience of ANZ’s customers.’
The MoU sets out the broad areas of intended cooperation between ANZ and Vontobel which are expected to be formalised in a Cooperation Agreement in the first half of 2013.
These areas of cooperation include: Vontobel’s expertise in global investments, discretionary portfolio management, structured products and tools, client advisory and client processes; and ANZ’s presence and franchise in Asia Pacific.