There are few opportunities for banks such as ANZ to buy unwanted banking businesses in Asia thanks to the support for European banks by the European Central Bank, ANZ's chief executive Mike Smith told an investor conference yesterday.
The injection of liquidity by the ECB (including the most recent round of €530 billion in three-year term funding at the end of February) had "changed the landscape . . . I think there would have been a few interesting opportunities out there had the European banks deleveraged and had to sell off some good businesses."
The Australian reported on Smith's remarks to a conference hosted by Credit Suisse in Hong Kong.
Smith said there still might be some acquisitions opportunities in the future as he felt that there was more work to be done in restructuring banks in Europe.
"The better-run banks in continental Europe are going to wake up to the fact that they do have to fix themselves, otherwise they are going to become state-owned," Smith said.
Smith, however, cautioned that relative tranquillity of the European banking system was temporary.
"We are in a period of relative calm right now. Is this going to last? No, it is not. It is going to take years to fix. It will take between three and five years."