ANZ plans A$3b share raising to meet extra capital rules

[SYDNEY] Australia & New Zealand Banking Group is raising A$3 billion (S$3.05 billion) in capital through an institutional placement and share purchase plan.

The raising "will allow ANZ to more quickly and efficiently accommodate additional capital requirements recently announced by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority," the bank said in a regulatory statement Thursday.

Australia's banking regulator last month raised the average capital that the country's four main lenders need to hold against potential home loan losses. It also said the banks would need to add 200 basis points of capital to be considered among the world's safest.

The bank also reported a A$5.4 billion cash profit for the nine months through June.

ANZ plans an institutional placement of A$2.5 billion through an accelerated book-build in a price range above an underwritten floor price of A$30.95 a share.

BLOOMBERG