Under the new structure, the existing operations functions will be brought into one group-wide operations function, reporting to chief executive Shayne Elliott, in an effort to create greater alignment and support each division effectively.
In an ASX statement on Wednesday, the bank said the new group will also be accountable for ANZ’s Group Capability Centre infrastructure, property and procurement teams.
A search by the business for a leader of this division is underway, both internally and externally, with the intention to launch the division in March 2025.
Elliott said: “While our banking businesses are performing very strongly, providing clearer accountabilities for operations will drive consistency and predictability. Importantly, it will also help capture scale across the group and improve how we respond to customers and other important stakeholders.
“Our vision is to create a more unified model for the way in which operations and other parts of the bank work together. This will ultimately unlock the next era of growth for the bank. It will also ensure we are able to acquire and retain the best talent available for these areas.”
As well as this organisational restructure, a group-wide data and analytics function will be responsible for data strategy and architecture and will shape the bank’s use of artificial intelligence (AI). This team will report to group executive for technology Gerard Florian who has worked at the bank since 2015.
In August, Florian shared how it is working with Copilot for Microsoft 365 and GitHub Copilot to boost productivity, innovation and customer service among its stafff. It has already purchased 3,000 licences of Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its employees and has deployed GitHub Copilot to 3,000 of its software developers and engineers for programming tasks.
It is also using AI to help spot signs of financial stress among customers and for a transaction scoring capability for retail and small business consumers which can scan their transactions and financial data to identify risks of distress.
“A new banking and finance regulation is released somewhere in the world every 10 minutes. AI is helping us ensure we meet our obligations and that we are working more effectively with regulators across the 29 countries in which ANZ operates.
“Given the level of organisational change generative AI will bring, it is essential that leaders are role models through the change,” Florian said at the time.
Earlier this week, the bank disclosed a substantial $196 million impact on its second half 2024 results due to one-off accounting adjustments linked to its recent acquisition of Suncorp.
Among the key drivers of this adjustment is a $36 million accelerated software amortisation charge, designed to align Suncorp’s software practices with ANZ’s standards.
ANZ’s completion of its acquisition of Suncorp was announced in September, almost two years after first announcing the $4.9 billion deal.
