Growing our Pacific legacy

ANZ has been in the Pacific for more than 140 years. Over the course of this long history, the Pacific has been an important part of our global network. Today, ANZ’s presence in the region helps Pacific families, businesses, and communities to thrive.

The announcement that the Australian Government will provide ANZ a limited guarantee for 10 years supports this continuing presence. It demonstrates a shared commitment to providing access to safe, trusted banking services in the region.

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Doing business in the Pacific can be complex. Each country has its own laws, regulations, customs and tax. While it’s important that each country charts its own course, this brings both challenges and opportunities.

This guarantee will support ANZ’s efforts to invest and build on our business in the Pacific, keeping communities and economies connected, and finance flowing in and out of the region.

A Bank of the Pacific

Our deep understanding of the Pacific and commitment to the free trade of goods and services in the region is unparalleled. We operate across nine countries in the Pacific, giving ANZ the most coverage of any bank in this vast area.

And today, we continue to play a critical role in local Pacific economies.

This means providing jobs - we employ 1,200 people. It also means we keep the region moving as a major provider of payments into and out of the Pacific region.

Today, we facilitate about 25 per cent of payments into the region and 15 per cent of payments out of the region – this is crucial for the Pacific Islands, because payments are the lifeblood of any thriving economy.

Our presence also means we invest in the region – having spent about AUD$95 million over the last five years on projects, systems, technology, property, as well as paying tax, which is important national income.

Building communities

At the same time, ANZ has a long-term social commitment to the Pacific, which will grow under this arrangement.

A key part of this is continuing to invest in our financial literacy program ‘MoneyMinded’. Through this program, we have provided financial literacy training to more than 70,000 people across the Pacific since 2011.

But our contribution to the civil society of the Pacific is larger than this.

We will continue to provide guidance and support to Pacific governments, regulators, customers and community partners, which is helping the region grow and thrive.

That is a really critical role ANZ will continue to play and build upon. It’s about bringing the best of ANZ to the region.

Investing in the future

As part of the arrangement with the Australian Government, ANZ will invest a further AUD $50 million in its Pacific banking systems to enhance digital banking offerings and support ongoing operations in the region.

It is an exciting investment that highlights the importance of our Pacific business.

We want to invest in technology that supports our customers in the region, because it enhances how we interact with customers both face-to-face and via digital channels.

We want to keep investing in uplifting our internet banking and Pacific app capability, as well as fraud and scam controls. Ensuring online security is critical in an increasingly digital world.

We are also setting aside AUD$1 billion over the next 10 years to finance investment in Pacific infrastructure projects, subject to ANZ’s standard risk criteria.

Bringing the expertise we have developed in Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific and making sure our systems are as robust as possible is crucial, given we operate across nine countries in the region.

But what is important to remember is this is not day one for ANZ in the region, this is about building on over 140 years of commitment to the countries, their people and their ambitions.

Sarah Stubbings is Regional Executive, Pacific at ANZ.