(8 January 2009 – Australia) ANZ has established a licensed banking branch in New Zealand in order to make its funding in New Zealand a simpler proposition.The change means that ANZ will now be able to fund its New Zealand operations directly from Australia.
ANZ spokesman Cameron Davis said the regulatory switch would allow ANZ National Bank to use the funding structure and capital market access of the larger Australian parent bank.
The activities in New Zealand of the ANZ branch will be restricted, and will not include any retail banking or lending to customers, the Reserve Bank said.
The new branch will be permitted to acquire mortgages originated by ANZ National Bank Limited and will be funded by the parent bank. The value of the mortgages held by the branch must not exceed NZ$15 billion (A$12.33 billion) in aggregate.
Previously, funding for ANZ National had to be sourced from within the New Zealand bank, which has been more expensive than in Australia in recent times.
Similar branch models are already in use by the remaining Australian majors that operate in New Zealand.
The ratings agency rate ANZ and their subsidiaries with the same rating, Davis noted.