ANZ Bank’s asset sales are reaching the end of a three-year campaign with the news that the bank is finally is selling its New Zealand asset finance business, UDC Finance, for $NZ762 million ($A705 million).
The ANZ has been trying to sell the finance business now for a year or more without success. The lucky buyer this time is Japan’s Shinsei Bank.
ANZ said the deal would provide a $A439 million or 10 basis point boost to its Level 2 tier 1 capital.
The chief executive of ANZ’s New Zealand business, Antonia Watson, said the deal was a vote of confidence in the NZ economy.
“With a strong outlook for infrastructure and agriculture projects as the New Zealand economy rebuilds post-COVID-19, there is a significant role for UDC Finance to play. As such, it needs an owner that can invest in and grow the business,” she said in a statement yesterday.
The ANZ said the sale will also release more than $NZ2 billion of funding provided by ANZ New Zealand, further strengthening its balance sheet position.
Shinsei Bank Group is a diversified financial group with both banking and non-banking business divisions. Shinsei Bank Group operates both asset financing and vehicle and consumer lending businesses similar to those of UDC within Japan and offshore.
ANZ shares fell 0.1% to $18.02 as the market ignored the news.
