International & Institutional Banking

Alex Thursby
Chief Executive Officer, International and Institutional Banking

Business profile

International and Institutional Banking has a global focus on large multi-national companies and Institutions with sophisticated needs, along with a fast-growing Commercial business and a Retail business serving affluent and emerging affluent customers in Asia.

The division is spearheading ANZ’s ambition to be a super regional bank with a growing presence and capability across Australia, New Zealand and 28 markets in Asia Pacific, Europe and America (APEA). We now serve more than 2.6 million Institutional, Commercial and Retail customers.

Our goals are to help deliver on ANZ’s aspiration to source 25 to 30% of Group revenue from APEA by 2017, and to continue to grow our Institutional business in Australia and New Zealand.

Business highlights

  • Delivered a sound financial performance with profit up 3%.
  • Global Markets continued its strategy to grow customer sales with revenue up 14%.
  • Received a retail Renminbi (RMB) licence becoming the first Australian bank to offer a range of RMB-related products and services to retail customers in China.
  • Invested a further $300 million in our locally incorporated subsidiary in China with seven outlets in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou.
  • Donated 75,000 Fiji Dollars to the Fiji Red Cross, The Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Appeal and local charities to support those affected by devastating floods in March 2012.
  • Delivered the MoneyMinded financial literacy program in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, American Samoa and Cook Islands, while establishing pilot programs in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Solomon Islands, Timor Leste, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
  • Opened our first street-level branch in Hong Kong in one of the city’s busiest retail and commercial districts. The flagship Kowloon branch supports the banking needs of Retail and Commercial customers.
  • ANZ Transactive is a web-based cash management platform for Institutional and Commercial customers. This product has now been deployed into Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and the Pacific. Deployment into remaining markets will be finalised by the end of 2013.

The continued growth of International and Institutional Banking is based on a significant commitment to building customer relationships. In 2012 we:

  • retained the No. 1 Relationship Strength Index position for Lead Relationships in the 2012 Peter Lee Associates Large Corporate and Institutional Relationship Banking in Australia Study
  • ranked as a top five corporate bank in Asia by Greenwich Associates. Four years ago, ANZ ranked outside the top 20
  • were voted the No. 2 foreign exchange provider in Asia Pacific in Asiamoney magazine’s 2012 poll. Last year, ANZ ranked outside the top 10
  • ranked the No. 1 mandated lead arranger for syndicated loans in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) league tables by Thomson Reuters.
Financial Performance[1] ($m)
2012 2011 Movt (%)
Operating income 6,592 6,190 6
Operating expenses (2,933) (2,757) 6
Profit before credit impairment and income tax 3,659 3,433 7
Provision for credit impairment (427) (293) 46
Profit before income tax 3,232 3,140 3
Income tax expense and non-controlling interest (860) (839) 3
Profit after tax 2,372 2,301 3
Total assets 276,306 259,397 7
Contribution to group earnings 39% 41% –
Non-Financial Performance[2]
2012 2011
Institutional Relationship Strength Index ranking[3] 2 1
Total employees (FTE)[4] 16,049 16,527
Employee engagement 70% N/A
Total Women in Management[5] 37% 30%
Volunteering hours[6] 7,748 8,434
Community investment[6] ($m) 0.67 0.85
Case Study

Our super regional strategy at work

Fortescue Rail

International and Institutional Banking delivered its first Chinese Yuan currency transaction for a major natural resources customer in December 2011, with a first of its kind Yuan-denominated and US dollar-hedged supply contract for Fortescue Metals Group.

The hedge contract enabled Fortescue to pay US$93 million worth of Yuan for Chinese manufactured rail transport cars as part of a broader expansion of its Pilbara operations in Western Australia.

This was the first time Fortescue signed an underlying contract in Yuan and then hedged this in US dollars. Settling trade transactions in Yuan can provide benefits for importers and exporters with trade ties to China. These range from added convenience, cost and pricing advantages, as well as relationship benefits for both parties. The wider use of the Yuan in offshore markets also provides hedging flexibility for companies as their Yuan exposures can be managed on a global basis.

ANZ has a designated Chinese currency team based in Hong Kong to support its customers and help them capture opportunities as the internationalisation of the Yuan for trade settlement purposes accelerates, and is well positioned to expand its currency and hedging services with some of the world’s biggest natural resources companies.