ANZ is buttressing its on-the-ground presence in the Chinese banking market following the recent decision by the country’s government to remove Covid measures that stymied foreign business activity in the country.
Since the start of February ANZ has begun to advertise scores of banking and technical roles in its Shanghai operation as part of the expansion strategy.
The bank is looking to bolster its senior lending team in Shanghai, along with new staff with expertise in trade finance, institutional client management and anti-money laundering compliance.
In an interview with the AFR on 10 February, ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott confirmed the bank’s intention to maintain its branch operations in China and widen its licensing authorities from Chinese regulators.
The Shanghai expansion marks a significant shift in ANZ’s positioning in China, with the bank primarily focused on deepening the distribution capability and skills base of its institutional banking hubs.
An ANZ spokesperson said China was a “critical market for ANZ’s strategy”.
“Currently the operations roles supporting ANZ’s Institutional banking business in China are relocating to Shanghai and Beijing, enabling our operations teams to work closer to our frontline bankers and clients’ base,” the ANZ spokesperson said.
“We are in the process of recruitment and training to ensure a seamless transition over the coming months.
“This move is part of our continuous commitment to support the trade and capital flows of our Chinese and multinational customers around the region and into our home markets of Australia and New Zealand.”
At the height of the global pandemic in March 2021 the bank slashed about half of its China workforce after deciding to relocate technology and other back office functions to Australia and India.
The move sparked errant speculation that ANZ was about to scale back its institutional and trade banking operations in the country.
Australian banks are taking divergent strategic positions on the future of their Chinese operations.
Westpac is continuing to reduce its presence in China after announcing in October 2020 plans to close the Shanghai and Beijing branches.
While the bank still has a presence in Shanghai and Beijing, a Westpac source said the timing of the formal closure of these branches was largely in the hands of Chinese regulators.
From an operational perspective, Westpac is now servicing the Chinese banking needs of institutional customers out of a regional hub in Singapore.
Along with Commonwealth Bank, ANZ has the deepest presence of the Australian majors in Chinese banking.
However, ANZ’s ability to service corporate and institutional customers appears to be unique because it remains the only Australian bank that directly participates in China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payments System (CIPS).
The CIPS subscription allows ANZ to directly connect its Beijing and Shanghai branches to China’s domestic payments networks that transact in renminbi.