Australia's AMP to merge banking, domestic wealth management businesses

[BENGALURU] Beleaguered Australian wealth manager AMP Ltd said on Thursday it will merge its banking and Australian wealth management business units into a new entity to be named AMP Australia.

Chief executive Francesco De Ferrari said Sally Bruce would step down as AMP Bank CEO and the new AMP Australia will be led by Alex Wade, currently CEO of the firm's Australian wealth management arm.

"Closer integration of the businesses was part of our long-term plan, and with Sally's decision to step down, we have been able to accelerate our internal re-organisation," said Mr De Ferrari.

The announcement follows a restructuring plan AMP unveiled in August that included major changes at its flagship wealth-management business in Australia and New Zealand, as the company sought to repair operations following revelations of misconduct.

AMP has said the restructuring strategy would mean ending the majority of commission payments to AMP's financial advisers and renegotiation agreements with its network of aligned advisors to slash the value of their businesses.

The company has flagged outflows of about A$3.97 billion (S$3.68 billion) for its wealth management unit for 2018. Meanwhile, AMP Bank saw its half-year underlying profit decline by nearly 9 per cent in the six months to June 30, due to higher regulatory costs.

REUTERS