Expressing confidence in the ANZ Group’s ability to manage the crisis, CEO Shayne Elliott said the group is closely monitoring the developing COVID-19 crisis and taking advice from experts to navigate in these challenging times. Mr Elliott also said the bank is “sadly” used to crises, particularly post 2008.
In an interview featured on ANZ bluenotes, Mr Elliott revealed the four-pronged approach at work to better manage the crisis.
The first “Prong” was to protect – focusing on protecting the customers, staff and of course the bank, making sure the essential services are delivered well.
The second imperative being “adaptation to the new normal”. The ANZ boss said “we need to adapt to the new world… there is an enormous amount of change happening in terms of behaviour – the need to work at home, etc. Our customers are behaving differently from us. So we need to adapt to that new world”.
The third part of the strategy: “Engage” – The need to engage with all stakeholders across the ecosystem including regulators, customers, “our people”, the government and the broader community. Mr Elliott also acknowledged one of the difficulties is that it is “rapidly changing”.
The final imperative, yet the most surprising element of the four-prong strategy is “preparing for a rebound“. Acknowledging this might not be a focus in these early stages the ANZ chief said the need to be better prepared when things revert to pre-COVID19 days remains a priority.
Mr Elliott also stressed the emphasis ANZ had on supporting customers and encouraged them to communicate regularly with the bank about any issues.
Fintech and Bigtech Challenges
Although the big banks including ANZ Bank have huge customer deposits running into hundreds of billions, the established players are cognizant of the speed at which the challenger banks are growing their deposits with attractive interest rates on offer.
Australian neobanks 86400 and Xinja offer 2.25% interest rate which is far higher compared to NAB’s offers. With the neobanks offering attractive interest rates and ‘bigtech’ spreading tentacles across financial services, it’s imperative the established players do more to improve brand loyalty and retain customers.
NAB recently announced a digital option to restrict gambling transactions via its app. Offering existing customers with personal finance management tools is one growing trend. Money management features with the added convenience of controlling finances via the app are in demand.
