ANZ ready to 'pivot to growth' in Asia with support of Asia-Pacific network

IF it seems quieter than usual for the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) in Singapore lately, it is not because the region is becoming less of a priority.

"When you move away from the mass market, there could be such a perception," says ANZ veteran Vishnu Shahaney, in his newly expanded role as country head of Singapore and head of South East Asia, India & Middle East. He recently moved back to Singapore from Indonesia where he was the country head.

The Melbourne-headquartered bank exited its retail and wealth businesses in the Asia-Pacific back in 2016, choosing to focus only on its institutional business - or the top end of the corporate banking segment here.

For ANZ, the last three years were spent reshaping its business in Asia, exiting the small, medium and local middle market businesses, and reducing risk-weighted assets targeted at low-yielding, higher-risk and n…