ANZ will buy RBS Asia biz for $550 m

The purchase will give ANZ access to 54 branches across Asia with $3.2 billion in loans and $7.1 billion (A$8.9 billion) in deposits.

“This is a solid outcome for ANZ that consolidates its growth strategy into Asia and gives added credence to its ambitions of becoming a regional powerhouse,” an analyst said. ANZ said the price it paid equates to 1.1 times net tangible book value, compared with 0.8 times paid by Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd for HBOS’s Australian unit and 2.7 paid by Westpac Banking Corp for buying St George Bank. Both those deals were done last year.