Australian lender ANZ launches structural overhaul amid regulatory woes

(Reuters) - ANZ Group has unveiled an organisational overhaul, with an aim to streamline operations and enhance data analytics, the Australian lender said on Wednesday as it sought to address regulatory woes surrounding its oversight of certain operations.

ANZ, which will report its annual results on Nov. 8, is currently being probed following media reports that the bank's bond trading department was suspected of overstating its role in a 2023 government bond issuance that allegedly cost Australian taxpayers.

The country's No. 3 lender will consolidate its operations into a single unit, led by a new executive team that will oversee ANZ's capability centre, property, and procurement teams.

"Clearer accountabilities for operations will drive consistency and predictability. It will also help capture scale across the Group and improve how we respond to customers and other important stakeholders," CEO Shayne Elliott said in a statement.

A search for a new group operations executive is expected to be completed in the coming months with the new structure forecast to be operational from March 2025, the company said.

Shares of ANZ ended 1.1% lower at A$31.220 on Wednesday.

The lender will also create a centralised data and analytics unit to renew focus on developing data strategy and architecture, as well as implementing the adoption of artificial intelligence.

Implementation of AI has enabled banking institutions to detect fraud and automate processes, with many banks already leveraging it to drive innovation and competitiveness.

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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