(3 August 2009 – Australia) Recent capital raisings and buoyant demand have meant that not only are Australian banks beefing up their balance sheets, but it has also given them a chance to look for potential acquisitions to come out of the financial crisis even stronger.Australia’s Big Four banks have all been among the capital raisings this year, bolstering their balance sheet and adding strength to their position as safe houses in global banking.
While Westpac and CBA have made the big acquisitions of St George and BankWest respectively, NAB and ANZ are also looking towards inorganic growth, albeit following different strategies.
Late in July, NAB announced a capital raising of up to A$2.75 billion through a share placement to help fund growth opportunities, including acquisitions. NAB’s raising follows a A$3 billion share sale last November.
The strengthened balance sheet gave NAB the opportunity to spend A$99 million to expand its wealth management practice by purchasing the JBWere private wealth management business. The bank also recently purchased the Australian arm of Aviva insurance.
Similarly, ANZ announced a A$2.5 billion fully underwritten share placement in May, with an eye on purchasing RBS assets in Asia.
In a recent trading update Australia’s biggest investment bank Macquarie Group said it had surplus capital of A$4.3 billion as at the end of June, further strengthening the Australian banking market.
While the super regional Asian strategy of ANZ differs from NAB’s diversified acquisitions in Australia, the strength of Australian banks is certainly providing opportunities.