New branding for ANZ's ING businesses
ANZ will create a new brand identity for the ING wealth management and life insurance businesses it wholly acquired last year.
In an email to staff today, ANZ’s Australian chief executive, Philip Chronican, said the wealth management businesses would continue with specialist brands — albeit brands that connect them to the broader ANZ Group.
ANZ’s buy-out of the remaining 51 per cent shareholding in its joint ventures with ING included wealth management and insurance business in both Australia and New Zealand. Chronican said a trans-Tasman team is now working on the development of a new name and visual identity for the businesses. Chronican said the businesses will switch to the new branding by the end of the year.
Chronican said it had been agreed that the “specialist wealth businesses will be best positioned for success with their own distinct brand identity, name and logo and with strong endorsement as part of the broader ANZ Group”.
“This decision to continue with a specialist brand identity has been an important one for ANZ and for the ING wealth businesses. Fundamentally, it recognises that successful wealth businesses need to be positioned as specialists in the eyes of customers and of key intermediaries, such as financial planners,” Chronican said in his email.
“The decision also supports our strategy to grow the wealth business, and will place us in a strong position to deepen the relationship with our customers and grow distribution through the IFA [independent financial adviser] and aligned adviser channels.”
This announcement will be considered a victory by those advisers who had lobbied for the businesses to maintain non-bank branding.
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