The bank has amassed 108.7 million ordinary shares under the program commenced in January last year.
ANZ doubled the size of its buy-back last year, following the sale of its Australian life insurance business OnePath to Zurich.
It has maintained that the sale remains scheduled to be completed in late May.
ANZ’s reported level 2 common equity tier 1 capital (CET1) ratio as at 31 December was 11.3 per cent, above APRA’s capital requirement of 10.5 per cent.
“Once the funds are received from the life insurance sale, any further capital management will take into account several factors, including actual and potential regulatory capital requirements as well as ongoing business needs,” Michelle Jablko, CFO of ANZ, said.
“Capital efficiency and a strong balance sheet have been key areas of focus in recent years.”
“Since 2016, we have built the group’s CET1 from 9.4 per cent to 11.3 per cent and have been the only major bank to reduce shares on issue.”
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
