ANZ is selling down its stake in a Vietnamese securities firm  - a stake it acquired during its earlier dabbles in investment banking in Asia, and one of the last investments in the region made by the bank's then departing chief executive John McFarlane in 2007.ANZ yesterday said it had agreed to sell its 17.5 per cent shareholding in Vietnam's Saigon Securities Inc to the chair of the firm's board, Hung Duy Nguyen, and a group of Vietnamese investors.The bank put a carrying value of A$54 million on the SSI stake in 2013 - a drop of $20 million from its valuation a year before.In a media release, ANZ said: "SSI remains a leading securities firm in Vietnam and the partnership has benefited both parties. It said the sale was "consistent with the group's super regional strategy, which emphasises the growth of ANZ-owned businesses and its commitment to improving returns in Asia."ANZ said it "continues to have a strong and growing presence in Vietnam where it is a leading international bank providing a full range of banking services to its institutional, commercial and retail customers."750 staff work in ANZ branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as well as representative offices in Binh Duong and Can Tho, the bank said.As in many Asian markets, in Vietnam ANZ is making its template banking offer its leading product, with "partners" in its partnership model under close scrutiny.More Asian partnerships may yet be discarded, such as the legacy Panin holding in Indonesia.Other alliances might yet be the basis for full ownership, such as the Royal mobile banking play in Cambodia.