COMMERCIAL ANZ Bank seeks wider powers

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 12

COMMERCIAL ANZ Bank seeks wider powers

t.VZ. Press Association—Copyright)

SYDNEY, January 3.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Ltd, wants to be free to carry on all types of insurance business, should it wish to do so in the future.

Shareholders will be asked at the annual meeting to approve a change in the Memorandum of Association of the group to permit insurance business. In the bank’s annual report the directors do not give a timetable for any diversification. It is likely that any insurance business undertaken will be through the wholely owned finance subsidiary, Esanda. Ltd. Several other major Australian financiers have already followed this line in their diversification. j The directors of the A.N.Z.; say in the annual report that the market value of the, group's properties is substan-1 tially higher than the value shown in the accounts.

national Inc., a management consultant company in which it had a 10 per cent interest. In agreement with the other partners Diebold has been placed in liquidation.

Thev estimate that the excels at present is not less than s73m. Branch rationalisation continued during the past year with the closure of 53! branches. Of these 42 were | through mergers. Ten new branches were opened. The bank has written off; its SUS3OO,OOO investment,! in the Diebold Group Inter-