ANZ Asian profit 'unhelpful'

ANZ's statutory profit in Asia is superficially one of its best yet, equivalent to 16 per cent of group profit in the half year to March 2015. This is up from 14 per cent in the prior half.

But the geographic profit breakdown is "unhelpful", Shane Elliot, the bank's chief financial officer, told an investor briefing yesterday.

Elliot said the bank's breakdown of its result in international and institutional banking provided better insight on the group's progress in Asia.


The commentary on the half year result shows that "in IIB … profit from APEA [Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas] increased 18 per cent."

However, only A$355 million of profit from IIB is attached to either the bank's Asian retail business or Asian "partnerships" - the latter all minority holdings in other banking groups.

This is a little less than half the $722 million profit recorded for Asia on a geographic basis.

"Revenue has consistently grown at double digit rates," ANZ said, "with the cumulative annual growth rate over the last five years standing at 19 per cent."


Forty-nine per cent of markets income came from APEA, the bank said.