The Asian angle in understanding ANZ is probably more complex and underwhelming at the end of Mike Smith's eight-year stint as CEO than he thought it might be at the outset.Smith has had to battle the irredeemable cynicism of many peers that any Aussie bank can cut it on the world stage."Bound to end badly" is still a common view on ANZ's offshore dreams.Smith framed this view in the bank's full year investor briefing in the context of investors putting more weight on short term returns.Yet for all the importance of Asia to the ANZ story, the bank is still taking care to punctuate its disclosures with flashes of insight on the progress of the business, rather than the production of any clear narrative on progress.Shayne Elliot, the incoming CEO, must build on Smith's beginnings of a new-look ANZ and dispel the doubters. A breeze through ANZ's disclosures yesterday had plenty of highlights.Asia Pacific, Europe and America contributed 20 per cent of group revenue over the year to September 2015.Profit from APEA was 17 per cent of group cash earnings over the full year but only 14 per cent in the second half.Lending in Asia accounts for 15 per cent of loans.One slide in yesterday's investor pack pitched a 13 per cent rise in pre-provision profit in Asia but was half that for NPAT growth in the region - so bad debts are prevalent.The bank reported fourteen per cent revenue growth, and a tad higher on the fees side. Market sales are up 15 per cent, a key fee generator.Profit in Greater China is up 20 per cent. This market is the largest outside Australia and New Zealand, Smith said."Asia Partnerships" - the collection of minority stakes in banks in China, Philippines and Malaysia (which dates from the John McFarlane era) - produced a profit of A$589 million, up 21 per cent over a year.Retail Asia Pacific - managed from within the institutional bank - lifted profit over the full year to $62 million from $46 million. But in the second half the retail Asian earnings were only $6 million, a function of hefty bad loans on consumer credit that wiped out 85 per cent of the pre-provision profit."Improved productivity with 20 per cent increase in revenue per FTE," ANZ said, a sign of a side of the bank reaching for reform.Some investments to support the business are late arriving.Digital solutions for big business customers is a recent spend, with 17 countries "now on board", so only half the Asian network.Margins were resilient in Institutional Asia for ANZ, a lift of 3 basis points markedly different to the 16 bps fall in the domestic franchise.Some Institutional Asia products are selling well enough, with cash deposits up 11 per cent, commodities sales up 44  per cent and rates sales up 32 per cent.Problem loans are also on the rise in Asia - especially in Indonesia. Elliot, still the group's chief financial officer, was cautioning on loans to Indonesian mining firms.No doubt