Supporting National Agendas

Helping bridge economic and social divides between urban and rural regions is a significant priority for governments and communities in many of our markets. Improving access to banking and encouraging financial inclusion are key ways we can make a difference.

We have been operating in the Pacific for over 130 years and have over 40% of banking market share. Many governments in the region look to us to demonstrate good practice banking models and to support them in their efforts to promote development opportunities in their own countries and links between them, the rest of Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Our ability to support these agendas is frequently ‘tied’ to our licence to operate. Bridging urban and rural divides by providing fair, safe and affordable products and services, as well as targeted financial literacy and inclusion programs, are thus critical to our success and to the prosperity of those communities.

Working With Regional Communities in Asia Pacific

Our rural banking service in Fiji provides face-to-face banking services to more than 300 communities and 170 schools through purpose-built trucks, ‘banktainers’, that travel between remote villages.

We have extended the service to other Pacific island countries, now serving nearly 90,000 people throughout Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Samoa and Vanuatu. As part of the services, we also conduct financial literacy education through MoneyMinded Pacific.

Innovative Banking Solutions

In June 2012 we opened our first banktainer in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This is our first full service branch able to be ‘dropped in’ to service remote communities, such as Lihir Island, an important natural resources hub in PNG. This innovative, transportable solution provides international companies and the Lihir community with critical banking services that connect customers to our main branch in Port Moresby, as well as to expertise across our regional network.

We developed another innovation in response to the severe floods in Fiji in early 2012. Our branch in Nadi, a town described as the gateway to Fiji, is now the first in ANZ’s network to have a ‘waterproof design’, which can be used in flood-prone areas around the world. When natural disasters occur, our businesses can be among the first to recover and play a vital role in restoring impacted economies.

This year, as part of a commitment to support microfinance institutions in the Asia Pacific region, three of our high‑performing staff participated in three-month secondments, facilitated by Australian Volunteers International (AVI).

Casey Morecroft from our Institutional Agribusiness team worked with the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO). Casey’s work was presented at the 2012 Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands, attended by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It highlighted that a major obstacle to private sector development in the Pacific, with high rural populations, is people’s lack of access to banking services.

Mobile phone banking is one way to address this. With six million people in the Pacific currently unable to access financial services, but rapidly growing mobile phone penetration, as high as 60% in Samoa and 70% in Papua New Guinea, it is a critical channel offering the ability for people to benefit quickly from banking infrastructure.

In 2012 we overcame impediments to implementing our mobile phone banking services in key Pacific markets and have targeted reaching 50,000 people in 2013.

Promoting Rural Development In Western China

We continue to support rural industries in China through our extensive rural finance expertise, and to foster and improve economic sustainability among rural farmers. For example, our Chongqing Liangping ANZ Rural Bank helps businesses in aquaculture, livestock, tea, medicine culture
and silk worm industries.

One such business customer used to employ several farmers to extract plant oil in a time-consuming process, selling only to local villagers. Through loans and training by ANZ staff, in aspects of financial and enterprise management, the business has grown significantly in size so that by 2012 it has become a leading enterprise in the municipality.

Working With Indigenous Australians

In Australia, we have demonstrated our strong commitment to supporting Indigenous communities through a wide range of activities, including our MoneyBusiness Program and our Indigenous Action Plan.

MoneyBusiness is an adult financial education program adapted specifically to build the money management skills and confidence of Indigenous Australians and to help develop a stronger savings culture in Indigenous communities. It was developed by ANZ and the Australian Government. As of 2012, it is being delivered by community agencies in more than 215 communities around Australia.

In June this year, we released our new Indigenous Action Plan, which continues our commitment to provide employment and training opportunities for Indigenous people. In May 2012 ANZ was selected to manage all of the Indigenous Land Corporation’s (ILC) transactional banking. The ILC is an independent statutory authority of the Australian Government. A deciding factor in our winning the tender, in addition to our core banking skills, was ANZ’s clear commitment to Indigenous communities demonstrated by our Indigenous employment and trainee programs and MoneyBusiness.

Further Supporting Rural and Regional Australia

In June 2012 we partnered with the Australian Beef Industry Foundation (ABIF) to deliver a scholarship program aimed at developing future generations of Australian rural agribusiness leaders.

Frank Archer, Chairman of the ABIF, said, “There is a definite skills shortage within rural and regional areas across Australia, but particularly so in the beef industry. ANZ has recognised this as an important issue for the industry and is working hand-in-hand with us to provide the much-needed support this issue needs.”

More broadly, we support rural and regional communities in Australia through our Seeds of Renewal program, in which we partner with the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal. The program provides small grants of up to AU$15,000 to community organisations in remote areas to support local leadership development and new education and employment opportunities. This year, we supported 30 new projects across regional Australia.