ANZ to sell its Australia wealth, insurance business

Sydney

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) on Thursday said it will sell its Australian insurance and wealth division to raise cash, as it posted its weakest profit in five years and warned that a soft jobs market could crimp growth.

Coming on top of a decision to shrink its Asian presence, the announcement signals a broader retreat to ANZ's traditional commercial retail strengths in the face of shrinking margins and rising political pressure on the Australian banking sector.

Rivals National Australia Bank and Macquarie Group have also divested insurance assets recently, as Australia's banks rush to free up capital to boost returns and meet increasingly onerous regulatory r…