Royal Bank of Scotland
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., which Tuesday agreed to buy Asian assets from Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, is prepared to take on Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc as it expands in the region. “ANZ is going to be a regional player,” Chief Executive Officer Michael Smith, who previously ran HSBC's Asian division, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “I don't want to take on HSBC or a Citigroup in Latin America or in the States or in Europe, but if it's in our backyard, in this region, then yes, we'll take them on.”
ANZ Bank, Australia's fourth-biggest lender, will pay US$550 million for the RBS businesses in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Vietnam, the Melbourne-based bank said in a statement to the stock exchange. ANZ Bank shares added 3 percent to A$19.57 at the close in Sydney, the highest since June 2008, taking their rally this year to 28 percent.
RBS, based in Edinburgh, is selling or shutting businesses in two-thirds of the 54 countries in which it operates after posting the biggest loss in British corporate history last year. The acquisition will help Smith toward his aim of doubling the proportion of income from Asia to 20 percent.
“It's a positive small step,” said Mark Nathan, who helps manage about A$4 billion (US$3.4 billion) at Fortis Investment Partners in Sydney. “Australia is a limited growth market and if the banks are going to grow they are certainly going to look offshore. They've effectively taken over the New Zealand market and Asia is the next logical step.”
ANZ Bank, which has been focused on the institutional business in Asia, is looking to broaden its commercial and consumer banking offerings in the region “where it makes sense,” Smith, 52, said.
Smith is expanding abroad after ANZ Bank's profit fell 28 percent to A$1.42 billion in the six months ended March 31, from a year earlier, as credit impairment charges almost doubled to A$1.44 billion.
The RBS businesses represent 54 branches with US$3.2 billion in loans and US$7.1 billion in deposits serving about 2 million clients, ANZ Bank said in the statement. The bank, advised by Credit Suisse Group AG, is paying 1.1 times the recapitalized book value of the RBS assets, it said.
“This is not transformational, this is a stepping stone along the vision that we have,” he said.
Even before the RBS deal, ANZ Bank had more investments in Asia than its Australian rivals, including stakes in Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank, Saigon Securities Inc. and Malaysia's AMMB Holdings Bhd.
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The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Wed, 08/05/2009 9:07 AM | Business
Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) announced Tuesday it signed a deal to acquire Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) operations in six Asian countries for US$550 million.
The acquisition includes RBS’s retail, wealth and commercial businesses in Indonesia, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, and its institutional banking businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
The acquisition will mark ANZ’s biggest overseas purchase and a stepping-stone for the bank’s goal of becoming a regional bank covering Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific.
ANZ had been eyeing RBS’s assets in Indonesia and in other Asian countries after the latter suffered losses of more than 28 billion pound sterling ($47.5 billion) following the credit crisis earlier this year.
ANZ chief executive officer Mike Smith said in a teleconference that Indonesia’s RBS businesses were chosen because of the country’s healthy economic growth and the growing demand for financial services in the country.
RBS has 20 branches in Indonesia serving 450,000 customers, with deposits of $800 million, the fourth largest amount of deposits following RBS in Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
RBS’s portfolio in Asia includes 54 branches, $3.2 billion in loans and $7.1 billion in deposits, with RBS serving approximately 2 million affluent clients.
Through RBS’s portfolio in Asia, Smith said ANZ offered their shareholders an opportunity to benefit from the growth in the region.
The bank is now waiting for approval from regulators in the six Asian markets, including Indonesia, and is anticipated to complete the acquisition from late 2009.
ANZ spokesperson Marta Yuliana said although ANZ had taken over RBS assets in Indonesia, RBS customers did not need to worry about any change in banking procedures.
“Banking procedures will run as usual until the central bank approves the acquisition,” she said, adding that any necessary changes were still under discussion.
She said ANZ was going to start its operational businesses with RBS after the approval, probably in the next three to six months.
ANZ’s cards business director Riko Abdurrahman said his company had a very strong credit cards business in Indonesia, and the acquisition would complement the business.
“The RBS cards business is an attractive portfolio and will provide us with a broader customer base and product opportunities,” he said.
ANZ, which was established in 1835 in Australia, services more than 6 million customers and employs more than 35,000 people.
The Australian bank has had a presence in Asia for over 40 years.
In Indonesia, ANZ has a partnership with the sixth largest local bank in the country, PT Panin Bank.
Earlier this year, ANZ spent $114 million to increase its stake in Panin Bank by 8.4 percent to 38.3 percent. (nia)
By Joyce Huang
STAFF REPORTER
Wednesday, Aug 05, 2009, Page 12
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) yesterday signed an agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) to acquire select RBS businesses in Asia for A$687 million (US$550 million).
The acquisition includes RBS’ retail, wealth and commercial businesses in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, as well as its institutional banking businesses in Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam, its press statement said.
The purchase price represented an A$62 million premium to, or 1.1 times, the fully provided recapitalized net tangible book value, although the final price will be based on the value at completion, the statement said.
“The acquisition 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 told a media briefing in Hong Kong.
“This acquisition deepens our capability in the region with RBS people who have the talent and experience to help accelerate our super regional strategy and to continue to support customers,” he said.
The portfolio of acquired businesses covers 54 branches, US$3.2 billion in loans, US$7.1 billion in deposits and a customer base of approximately 2 million, ANZ said.
It plans to fund the acquisition from the proceeds of its recent institutional share placement, the bank’s statement said.
Upon the completion of the acquisition, ANZ’s pro forma tier 1 capital ratio would be 9.5 percent, it said.
ANZ promised to deliver cash earnings per share accretive within two years after completing the acquisition, it said.
As part of the acquisition, ANZ has also put in place a transitional services agreement and a product supply agreement with RBS while retention agreements have been put in place with key RBS employees, the bank said.
The acquisition of each business is subject to regulatory approvals, including local prudential regulatory approval, it said.
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trotzdem ist der Widerstand noch nicht gebrochen... Die 57 haben wir auch schon am Montag gesehen... Heut packen wirs aber!
Einfach nur genial.....
Das könnte mein erster 1000 % ler geben..... aber wenn es nur 800 werden, dann soll es so sein.....:-))
ob dezember 2009 oder januar 2010 kein problem ,,
über 1 euro wird stimmen .
Klar ohne Optimismus geht an der Börse nichts.
Und gegen Ende des Jahres wäre ne 1 vor Komma prima.
Dann wär der Gänsebraten auf jeden Fall bezahlt ;)
RBS chief executive Stephen Hester, who said in February the Asian assets were ‘non-core’. Picture: Sean Bell
« Previous « PreviousNext » Next »View GalleryADVERTISEMENTPublished Date: 05 August 2009
By Martin Flanagan
ROYAL Bank of Scotland kicked-off the sale of its "non-core" assets yesterday by agreeing a $550 million (£327m) deal with Australia & New Zealand Banking Group for a swathe of Asian businesses.
The sale includes RBS's retail and commercial banking operations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia – and comes ahead of the Scottish bank's interim trading results on Friday.
RBS is also understood to be on the brink of selling its retail and commercial banking businesses in India, China and Malaysia to Standard Chartered Bank for between $220m and $250m.
As part of yesterday's deal, ANZ will also acquire RBS's wholesale banking operations and global transaction services (international corporate payments) in the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.
RBS said the price represented a $50m premium for control on top of the book value – the basic value of the assets – of the businesses being sold.
A UK banking analyst said: "This doesn't seem a bad price for RBS, and Stephen Hester (RBS's chief executive] will also welcome the lack of senior management diversion to assets he no longer sees as core at the Royal."
The purchase gives ANZ access to 54 branches across Asia with $3.2bn in loans and $7.1bn in deposits. It takes Australia's fourth biggest bank closer to its goal of getting 20 per cent of its revenue from Asia by 2012.
Ben Potter, IG Markets' Sydney-based banking analyst, said: "This is a solid outcome for ANZ that consolidates its growth strategy into Asia and gives added credence to its ambitions of becoming a regional powerhouse."
Hester said in February that RBS's retail and commercial banking operations in Asia were now deemed "non-core" as the part-nationalised bank sought to slim its balance sheet and focus on fewer markets.
The Scottish bank confirmed yesterday it remained in advanced talks with bidders for the remaining assets it has decided to sell in Asia. These include RBS Pakistan where four potential bidders are known to have thrown their hats in the ring via regulatory announcements in that country.
RBS is to keep an investment banking business in 11 markets in Asia.
The bank is expected to report a modest headline profit, including exceptional gains, this Friday following a £692m loss at this time last year.
Meanwhile, Standard Chartered unveiled a surprise £1 billion market fundraising yesterday following its £1.8bn cash call late last year.
Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands said the latest share placing was "absolutely not" to build a war chest for a big acquisition, but was to give the bank firepower to capitalise on opportunities as Asian economies recovered. Sands confirmed the bank was in talks about acquisitions in China and India that would cost "low hundreds of millions of dollars".
The full article contains 481 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.Page 1 of 1