Melbourne, August 04: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) will acquire certain businesses of RBS in Asia for an estimated USD 550 million, as part of efforts to expand its presence in the region.
ANZ would buy Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS’s) retail, wealth and commercial businesses in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong.
Further, the entity would acquire the institutional businesses of RBS in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam, ANZ said in a statement today.
Both ANZ and RBS have reached an agreement in this regard and the businesses would be bought for nearly USD 550 million.
According to the firm, the portfolio of businesses represents 54 branches, USD 3.2 billion in loans and USD 7.1 billion in deposits serving a client base of approximately two million affluent and emerging affluent clients, the statement noted.
One of the worst hit in the ongoing financial crisis, RBS is selling assets in Asia as part of its strategy to refocus the group’s geographic across a smaller number of key markets.
“The acquisition of these RBS businesses is a further stepping stone in our super regional strategy and creates a new platform for our retail and wealth businesses in Asia,” ANZ Chief Executive Officer Mike Smith said.
In a separate statement, RBS said the transaction would be through both share sales and asset and liability transfers.
The acquisition of each business is subject to regulatory approvals and the buyout of the businesses in each jurisdiction is not dependant on each other.
“We are well advanced with integration plans for each country so we can hit the ground running.
“This will involve putting the RBS businesses onto a sustainable footing by centralising hub operations and technology, business model transformation in retail and institutional, and exploiting the significant business opportunities associated with the combined business,” ANZ Chief Executive Officer (Asia Pacific, Europe and America) Alex Thursby said.
Credit Suisse acted as exclusive financial adviser to ANZ on the acquisition.
–Agencies