SYDNEY, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian banking giant ANZ announced Friday it will sell off it retail banking operations in Vietnam to Shinhan Bank Vietnam.
The move, according to a statement sent to Xinhua by ANZ Group Executive of International, Farhan Faruqui, was done in order to better align with the bank's ongoing strategy to simplify operations and improve capital efficiency.
"It allows us to focus resources on our largest business in Asia, institutional banking, where we are a top four corporate bank supporting regional trade and capital flows," Faruqui said.
The banking boss maintained that his company will not be pulling out of Vietnam entirely, but rather maintain a presence in the institutional side of the banking business in the South-East Asian nation, and ensured that all staff from the retail end would be retained following the sale.
"This will help ensure a smooth transition for our customers, while presenting a great opportunity for our people to join a retail bank with significant growth plans." Faruqui said.
The retail side of the business being sold by the Australian bank, currently serves over 125,000 customers in Vietnam.
ANZ said it expect the sale to be completed sometime in the later parts of 2017.
