India back on ANZ agenda
(27 February 2008 – India) ANZ has identified plans to roll out institutional and high end banking operations in the high growth market of India.
ANZ’s new head of Asia Pacific Banking, Alex Thursby, commented to the Herald Sun that ANZ had been working with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after applying for a branch licence last September.
ANZ has previously conducted operations in India via its Grindlays subsidiary which included a network of 50 branches. This was sold to Standard Chartered in 2001.
Thursby was the head of corporate banking business in India and the Middle East for Standard Chartered at the time of the Grindlays sale.
He said that the sale by ANZ in 2001 was right at the time given ANZ’s strategic direction and an investor push to focus on Australia.
Thursby added that ANZ is now placed to invest in a more focused way in India than would have been possible through Grindlays.
ANZ plans to focus on institutional banking over the first two years. Targeted areas will be foreign currency, cash management, deposits and project finance.
Thursby said that the ANZ name was still well known in India in the wholesale and institutional businesses, which would help progress.
After the institutional banking business has been implemented, ANZ will be looking at banking to high net worth individuals, starting with the credit card market.
ANZ still has an Indian presence through its Mumbai-based merchant banking arm, ANZ Capital, which deals in trade finance.
ANZ has previously conducted operations in India via its Grindlays subsidiary which included a network of 50 branches. This was sold to Standard Chartered in 2001.
Thursby was the head of corporate banking business in India and the Middle East for Standard Chartered at the time of the Grindlays sale.
He said that the sale by ANZ in 2001 was right at the time given ANZ’s strategic direction and an investor push to focus on Australia.
Thursby added that ANZ is now placed to invest in a more focused way in India than would have been possible through Grindlays.
ANZ plans to focus on institutional banking over the first two years. Targeted areas will be foreign currency, cash management, deposits and project finance.
Thursby said that the ANZ name was still well known in India in the wholesale and institutional businesses, which would help progress.
After the institutional banking business has been implemented, ANZ will be looking at banking to high net worth individuals, starting with the credit card market.
ANZ still has an Indian presence through its Mumbai-based merchant banking arm, ANZ Capital, which deals in trade finance.
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