Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ)

Shares / Stock Code

ANZ

Stock Exchange / Sharemarket

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Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) is actively involved in providing a range of banking and financial products and services to retail, small business, corporate and institutional clients. ANZ listed on the ASX on 30 September, 1969. The Company operates mainly in Australia and New Zealand. ANZ has its business operations also across the Asia Pacific regions, and in various other countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. ANZ head office is based in Melbourne, where it first opened an office as the Bank of Australasia in the 1830s. ANZ conducts its activities through five main divisions comprising Personal, Institutional and New Zealand Businesses, Partnerships & Private Bank and Group Center.

ANZ became the largest bank in New Zealand after the acquirement of NBNZ in 2003. ANZ owns a 49% stake in significant Australian funds management business through its funds management joint venture with ING. ANZ acquired 19.9% interest in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank on November 21, 2006 and it acquired a 20% share in Tianjin City Commercial Bank in July 2006. The Company held a significant interest of 81.4% in E*TRADE Australia Limited in May 2007. In July 2007, the Company acquired Citizens Security Bank (CSB) in Guam.

ANZ’s measured strategy to expand its business in Asia set it apart from others. In Asia, ANZ is focused on forming partnerships with local partners in the retail financial services markets and operating through a network of local branches and offices, mainly in trade, project finance and corporate transactional finance. ANZ uses a portfolio strategy to its investments in Asia, which reduces the risk in individual investments.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group History

ANZ is a large and established global banking and financial services group in Australia and New Zealand and it is among the top 50 banks in the world.

ANZ began in London when The Bank of Australasia was founded under Royal charter in 1835. In 1951 the Bank of Australasia merged with the Union Bank of Australia to form ANZ Bank and commenced operations in Honiara, Solomon Island. In 1970, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited was created as a result of the merger of ANZ Bank with the English, Scottish and Australian Bank Limited. It opened representative office in Malaysia in 1971. ANZ incorporated in Australia in 1977 and acquired the Bank of Adelaide in 1979. In 1984 it purchased Grindlays Bank and purchased PostBank from New Zealand Government in 1989. In 1990 ANZ acquired National Mutual Royal Bank Limited, Lloyds' operations in Papua New Guinea, Bank of New Zealand's operations in Fiji and Town and Country Building Society in Western Australia. In 1991, it acquired 75 per cent of Bank of Western Samoa and opened representative office in the Philippines. In 1993, it formed a joint venture with PT Panin Bank, Indonesia and opened a commercial banking branch in Manila, Philippines, the first Australian and New Zealand bank in 1995. Bank of Western Samoa was renamed to ANZ Bank (Samoa) in 1997.

The bank acquired stake in PT Panin Bank, Indonesia in 1998. In the year 1999, ANZ Internet Banking was launched and ANZ announced the strategic alliance with E*Trade Australia for online share trading service and Amerika Samoa Bank was purchased. ANZ sold its Grindlays businesses in the Middle East and South Asia, and related Grindlays Private Banking business, to Standard Chartered in 2000. ANZ acquired 75% of Bank of Kiribati in 2001 and established a joint venture with ING Group for funds management and life insurance business in Australia and New Zealand in 2002. It took over National Bank of New Zealand from Lloyds TSB in 2003. It launched strategic alliance with Sacombank, Vietnam in 2005 and completed the 20% investment in China's Tianjin City Commercial Bank in 2006. In 2007, ANZ achieved leading international bank ranking in Dow Jones Sustainability Index and settled acquisition of E*TRADE Australia the same year. ANZ also completed the investment in Malaysia's AMMB Holdings Berhad, China's Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Vietnam's Saigon Securities Incorporation and ANZ Vientiane Commercial Bank, Laos in 2007.