ANZ is set to buy some Asia-based banking assets from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Group as soon as Friday, according to press reports.
The lender, which is aiming to become a super regional bank, may offer around $900 million to $1.1 billion for RBS's units in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia, the reports said.
"Negotiations are progressing with RBS regarding selected Asian businesses, however we can't comment on speculation regarding which businesses, timing or the eventual outcome of discussions," an ANZ spokesperson told InvestorDaily.
IG Markets analyst Ben Potter said the RBS assets that ANZ sought aren't profitable and ANZ would have to embark on significant cost-cutting and restructuring measures to extract the appropriate synergies.
"It's certainly not going to be a bolt-on acquisition, where it will be earnings accretive straight away. But in one or two years I certainly think it will be a very strong asset," Potter said.
Still, ANZ would be left with ample cash on the balance sheet should it complete the acquisition at the price indicated in the press reports.
The reports have indicated that ANZ is also interested in buying Dutch bank ING Group's private banking business in Asia.
Potter said it would make sense for ANZ to buy the remaining stake of ING Australia that it does not already own, in order to better compete with rivals in the wealth management market.
ANZ, led by chief executive Mike Smith, is seeking to grow its presence in the Asia-Pacific region to around 20 per cent of earnings by 2012.
The company raised $2.2 billion of retail shareholder funds in July following a $2.5 billion institutional share placement in May.
