Photo: The English, Scottish &
Australian Bank merged with ANZ Bank to become the Australia and New Zealand
Banking Group in 1970.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (now often known as ANZ) began life in 1835 when the Bank of Australasia was incorporated in London by Royal Charter. In 1951, the Bank of Australasia merged with the Union Bank of Australia (founded in 1837) to form ANZ Bank. In 1970, in what was then the largest banking merger in Australian history, ANZ Bank merged with the English, Scottish and Australian Bank (founded in 1852, also known as ESA Bank) to form the present Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
Like many British colonial banks, ANZ Banking was founded in London in Victorian times. It only moved its country of registration to Australia in 1977, finally making it a truly Australian-based bank.
In 1984, ANZ Banking acquired Grindlays Bank, a British colonial bank that was active in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, but it was subsequently sold to Britain's Standard Chartered Bank in 2000.
Recent transaction(s):
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (now often known as ANZ) began life in 1835 when the Bank of Australasia was incorporated in London by Royal Charter. In 1951, the Bank of Australasia merged with the Union Bank of Australia (founded in 1837) to form ANZ Bank. In 1970, in what was then the largest banking merger in Australian history, ANZ Bank merged with the English, Scottish and Australian Bank (founded in 1852, also known as ESA Bank) to form the present Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.
Like many British colonial banks, ANZ Banking was founded in London in Victorian times. It only moved its country of registration to Australia in 1977, finally making it a truly Australian-based bank.
In 1984, ANZ Banking acquired Grindlays Bank, a British colonial bank that was active in the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, but it was subsequently sold to Britain's Standard Chartered Bank in 2000.
Recent transaction(s):
- In 2003, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group purchased National Bank of New Zealand (NBNZ) for AUD $4.92-billion (GBP 2.25-billion) from Britain's Lloyds TSB Group plc (now Lloyds Banking Group).
- In 2005, ANZ bought 19.9% of China's Tianjian City Commercial Bank for USD $120-million.
- In 2006, bought 19.9% of China's Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank for AUD $328-million (USD $252-million).
- Also in 2006, bought 13.5% of Malaysia's 5th largest bank AMMB Holdings for AUD $494-million (USD $383-million).
- In 2009, ANZ bought Royal Bank of Scotland's operations in 6 Asian countries for USD $550-million (AUD $656-million, GBP 324-million). The purchase included 54 branches, USD $3.2-billion in deposits, USD $7.1-billion in loans and 2 million clients in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Philippines and Vietnam.
- Also in 2009, ANZ bought out the remaining 51% stake in ING Australia and ING New Zealand that it did not own from its partner ING Groep for AUD $1.76-billion (Eur 1.1-billion, USD $1.5-billion). The units bought were in the life insurance and wealth-management business. ING Groep and ANZ merged their Australian and New Zealand life insurance and wealth-management units back in 2002, with ING owning 51% and ANZ owning 49% of the combined units. Not included in the deal were ING’s other businesses in Australia: ING Direct, ING Investment Management, ING Wholesale Banking and ING Real Estate.
- In October 2016, ANZ sold its retail and wealth management operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Taiwan and Indonesia to Singapore' DBS Group Holdings for SGD $110-million above book value.
- In January 2017, ANZ sold its 20% minority stake in China's Shanghai Rural Bank for AUD $1.84-billion (USD $1.32-billion, CNY 9.19-billion). The buyers are China Cosco Shipping Corp. and Sino-Poland Enterprise Management Development Corp., each taking a 10% stake.
