ANZ takes lead in Australian market

ANZ is confident of further growth in its Australian business, including a pickup in business banking.

Phil Chronican, CEO of ANZ in Australia, told the bank's BlueNotes portal that ANZ would stick to the same core strategy it had been running for years, but with "more intensity of focus."

Chronican said ANZ's renovation work of recent years was starting to come to fruition.

"We're in our fifth year of market share gains in the home loan market," he said.  "I think we've got a fair amount of time ahead of us where we can continue these sorts of gains."

He said external economic factors continued to keep business confidence low and hold back the business lending sector.

"We know that the business sector is lowly geared, but it's that confidence, that willingness to go out and make the investment that has been weak."

Chronican said it was likely businesses were waiting for the global economic and political environment to calm down before they made that commitment to investment.

"We think that's happening and we're pretty confident that we're going see it in 2015, but it's something we've been waiting for a long time."