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Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Australia's third-largest bank by market value, is eyeing Asia-Pacific for a bigger contribution to group revenues.
The group was well capitalised to make acquisitions to help achieve this target, said Sanjoy Sen, managing director of retail banking for Asia-Pacific.
Although Sen declined to comment further, in the frame when it comes to possible acquisitions may be Hong Kong's family-owned lender Chong Hing Bank, which said last month that expressions of interest in a takeover had been received.
If a deal is reached, it could be the first acquisition of a local lender since 2008, when China Merchants Bank bought Wing Lung Bank.
ANZ considered buying one of the family-owned banks in Hong Kong last year but could not reach an agreement on price at the time, according to market sources.
"Given we already have stakes in several banks in Asia, we have the ability to do an acquisition," Sen said. But he declined to identify the possible targets. ANZ holds a 39 per cent stake in Panin Bank in Indonesia and 24 per cent of Malaysia's AmBank.
"Investors are becoming more global in their outlook and need banks to help them manage accounts in multiple markets," Sen said, adding that ANZ's regional strategy could offer such services to these investors.
The bank has set its sights on generating 25 to 30 per cent of its group earnings by 2017 in Asia-Pacific, Europe and America, with emerging affluent customers in the region as one of the main drivers.
The rapid growth in the number of high-net-worth individuals in Asia-Pacific will help the region overtake the United States in millionaire numbers over the next three years, according to global consultancy firm Capgemini and Royal Bank of Canada.
Many foreign players are bidding for bigger shares of the banking market in Asia-Pacific, and ANZ, which acquired the Asian retail business assets of Royal Bank of Scotland for US$550 million in 2009, now has operations in 21 markets in the region.
That translates into 2.6 million customers, up from 925,000 in 2007, and the bank now has 9,100 employees and 94 branches and points of representation in the region, compared with 30 branches in 2007.
While competition in the region was intense, the market was not yet overcrowded, said Sen. "I wouldn't say any of our markets, whether Hong Kong or China, are overcrowded or saturated. I think there is a place for new players."
The number of affluent customers in the region was set to grow strongly, he added, and they would be looking for wealth management products that suited their needs.
Sen, who is based in Singapore, said Chinese customers showed a preference for investing in Hong Kong rather than Singapore, and Hong Kong, as the gateway to mainland China, attracted investors looking for opportunities in greater China.
"Products available in Hong Kong are superior to those in many other Asian markets. For example, a Vietnamese affluent customer has very limited opportunities to invest in Vietnam, and many of the markets in Asia are controlled so they do not offer the same product suite that you can have in Hong Kong," he said.
ANZ operated in a niche segment of affluent and emerging affluent customers and there was huge potential in this market, he added. "Hong Kong is a very big financial centre with a large base of affluent customers."
With one flagship store and two other branches in the city, Sen said ANZ was not competing with players with dozens of branches in Hong Kong.
However, customers now preferred to do their banking remotely by way of electronic means, which ANZ had been investing in, he added.


ANZ counts on Asia-Pacific to drive growth

Sanjoy Sen, ANZ's managing director of retail banking for Asia-Pacific, says products available in Hong Kong are superior to those in many other Asian markets. Photo: Nora Tam

Business

Banking & Finance

Australian bank seeks to achieve targets by acquisitions and focusing on affluent customers


Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Australia's third-largest bank by market value, is eyeing Asia-Pacific for a bigger contribution to group revenues.


ANZ counts on Asia-Pacific to drive growth

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Australian bank seeks to achieve targets by acquisitions and focusing on affluent customers

Australian bank seeks to achieve targets by acquisitions and focusing on affluent customers