ANZ merges Asia wealth, private banking units, Manfred Liechti goes

ANZ has consolidated its Asian private banking and wealth units following a review in the region, resulting in the departure of executive Manfred Liechti.

ANZ has consolidated its Asian private banking and wealth units following a review in the region, resulting in the departure of executive Manfred Liechti.

In an internal memo on Friday, ANZ’s chief of global wealth, Joyce Phillips, said she had decided to bring the units together to “drive higher levels of growth by creating stronger alignment across our teams”.

Bret Packard, ANZ’s managing director wealth Asia, is based in Singapore and will oversee the merged unit, while Mr Liechti will leave the bank, effective immediately.

Kevin Ong and Arjan De Boer, the heads of private banking in Southeast Asia and North Asia, respectively, will report to Mr Packard, as will Mario Bassi, the private bank’s head of business management.

Mike Norfolk, who runs ANZ’s private bank in Australia, will report to Ms Phillips and join the wealth leadership team.

“There will be no change to our strategy. We are emerging into a new growth phase across private bank in all our countries,” wrote Mr Phillips in the memo.

“I will continue to work closely with the private bank heads to build sustainable and profitable growth across the region and deliver solutions that help our ­clients better connect and protect and grow their wealth.”

ANZ is the largest Australian bank in Asia, targeting 25-30 per cent of earnings from the region by 2017, an aspiration the group is close to achieving.

But since buying parts of Royal Bank of Scotland’s businesses in Asia, including its retail and wealth operations in Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong, the regional strategy has been more focused on institutional banking offering trade ­finance, foreign exchange and trading.

In the year to September 30, ANZ’s global wealth division increased cash profit to $299 million, but the Asia-Pacific, Europe and America region failed to contribute to the result, with all the profits coming from Australia and New Zealand.

Like all banks in Asia, ANZ is struggling with the headwinds of hot competition and low interest rates hitting margins, plus lower commodity prices. In a trading update this month, ANZ revealed subdued trading income and a decline in its net interest margin. A spokesman said the decision to merge the Asian private banking and wealth teams followed a “review of our business in Asia”.