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ANZ buys RBS Asian assets in a $550m deal
AUSTRALIA and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has agreed a $550m (£324.6m) deal to buy Asian assets from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
The deal is its biggest overseas purchase, helping it to take on rivals HSBC and Standard Chartered in Asia’s fast-growing markets.
ANZ has been in talks for weeks to buy retail and commercial banking operations in six Asian markets from RBS, which is selling assets to concentrate on its home market after racking up huge losses during the credit crisis.
The purchase will give it access to 54 branches with $3.2bn in loans and $7.1bn in deposits, taking it closer to its goal of generating a fifth of its revenue from Asia by 2012.