The new head of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s institutional business said he’s not done with job cuts... Chinese interest in Australian real estate skyrockets...
ANZ institutional head not done after cutting top ranks by 20%
(Bloomberg) -- The new head of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s institutional business said he’s not done with job cuts after the lender culled more than 20 percent of its top executives at the unit.
Mark Whelan, who took over the role in February, also said he plans to reduce risky assets in the division by 16 percent, or A$30 billion ($22 billion), in three years as part of a broader strategy of increasing return on equity.
“We had built a model that was not right for current markets and our bank,” Whelan said in an interview Wednesday. “If we are going to simplify the organization, it has to start at the top and filter lower. Most of the pain has been taken at the senior level and also at the middle level as we had built it for a global bank instead of a regional bank.”
The cuts come as the Melbourne-based lender retreats from a seven-year push into Asia that was aimed at competing with banks such as HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc. The expansion, while boosting revenue, saw ANZ ’s return on equity diluted as loan margins fell and costs rose, forcing a rethink.
Chinese interest in Australian real estate skyrockets
As Australian financial institutions crack down on lending to foreign buyers it has been revealed that Chinese interest in Australian property skyrocketed during 2015.
According to figures from Juwai.com, which markets international property to China, inquiries to real estate agents and property developers from Chinese buyers looking to purchase Australian residential real estate increased by 87.1% during 2015.
According to the Juwai.com figures, Chinese buyers enquired about US$34.9b worth of Australian housing during 2015.
Gavin Norris, head of Australia for Juwai.com, said the surge in interest in Australian real estate among Chinese buyers was no surprise given their demand for properties across the globe, however Australia shouldn’t assume it will always be a destination of choice.
“These results are no surprise. I would hesitate to make any short-term predictions, but by 2020 we expect Chinese buyers to set new records for international real estate investment,” Norris told Your Investment Property Magazine.
“How much of that money gets poured into the pockets of Australians depends in part on how successful the local industry is at marketing,” he said.
(Bloomberg) -- The new head of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s institutional business said he’s not done with job cuts after the lender culled more than 20 percent of its top executives at the unit.
Mark Whelan, who took over the role in February, also said he plans to reduce risky assets in the division by 16 percent, or A$30 billion ($22 billion), in three years as part of a broader strategy of increasing return on equity.
“We had built a model that was not right for current markets and our bank,” Whelan said in an interview Wednesday. “If we are going to simplify the organization, it has to start at the top and filter lower. Most of the pain has been taken at the senior level and also at the middle level as we had built it for a global bank instead of a regional bank.”
The cuts come as the Melbourne-based lender retreats from a seven-year push into Asia that was aimed at competing with banks such as HSBC Holdings Plc and Citigroup Inc. The expansion, while boosting revenue, saw ANZ ’s return on equity diluted as loan margins fell and costs rose, forcing a rethink.
Chinese interest in Australian real estate skyrockets
As Australian financial institutions crack down on lending to foreign buyers it has been revealed that Chinese interest in Australian property skyrocketed during 2015.
According to figures from Juwai.com, which markets international property to China, inquiries to real estate agents and property developers from Chinese buyers looking to purchase Australian residential real estate increased by 87.1% during 2015.
According to the Juwai.com figures, Chinese buyers enquired about US$34.9b worth of Australian housing during 2015.
Gavin Norris, head of Australia for Juwai.com, said the surge in interest in Australian real estate among Chinese buyers was no surprise given their demand for properties across the globe, however Australia shouldn’t assume it will always be a destination of choice.
“These results are no surprise. I would hesitate to make any short-term predictions, but by 2020 we expect Chinese buyers to set new records for international real estate investment,” Norris told Your Investment Property Magazine.
“How much of that money gets poured into the pockets of Australians depends in part on how successful the local industry is at marketing,” he said.
