ANZ is planning to end its operations in Myanmar by early 2023, subject to local regulatory approval, following “increasing operational complexity” over the past several months.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the bank said that it has been helping its institutional customers transition to alternative banking arrangements in light of its recent decision.
“The decision follows careful consideration of the local operating conditions. We thank the team for working tirelessly to support our customers during this time,” ANZ managing director, international, Simon Ireland said.
“Our international network and supporting the trade and capital flows of our customers around the region is a critical part of our strategy, and will continue to be for the long term.”
ANZ began its operations in Myanmar in 2015. The bank said that it has a small local team focused on supporting the onshore and cross-border needs of multinational companies.
Earlier this month, leaked bank records released by journalist organisation Distributed Denial of Secrets revealed that ANZ Bank had links to Innwa Bank — a bank owned by military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) which has been under sanctions by major economies including the US and UK for some time.
At the time, ANZ told local media that it had not breached Australian or international sanctions and denied having a commercial relationship with Innwa Bank.
But, documents published by Distributed Denial of Secrets pointed to transfers from Hong Kong-based insurer AIA via ANZ to accounts operated by Innwa Bank. Similar transactions were said to have been performed by Malaysian company edotco and others.
At the time, Justice for Myanmar said ANZ’s behaviour, and that of other global banks is the result of “a failure of governments to take a coordinated approach to isolate military conglomerates and cutting the junta’s sources of revenue”.
“Banks must immediately ban transactions with Myanmar military banks, or risk complicity in the junta’s international crimes,” it added.
Jon Bragg
Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.
