ANZ in good shape
|
|
The ANZ banking group, which has been widely speculated to be in the market for a major wealth management acquisition, has reported a solid increase in profit for the four months to the end of January.
The banking group reported a 16 per cent increase in unaudited underlying profit after tax for the period of approximately $1.6 billion on the back of income growth of around 8 per cent.
The banking group, which late last year acquired ING in Australia and New Zealand, said the integration process was proceeding on track along with its acquisition of some of the Asian assets of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Commenting on the result, ANZ chief executive Mike Smith said the outlook for the economies of Australia, New Zealand and Asia was significantly more positive than at the same point last year and the improved conditions had been reflected in the more positive outlook for provisions.
“The economic cycle is unfolding much as we anticipated although the resilience of the economy in Australia now means that we are unlikely to see the stress that might originally have been expected in the consumer portfolio,” he said.
However, Smith said globally the new ‘normal’ was going to be characterised by lower economic growth compared to the decade prior to the financial crisis, albeit that Asia was expected to remain the world’s best performing region, confirming ANZ’s super regional strategy.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.
