ANZ sings deal with Aust dept

 ANZ yesterday signed an agreement with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to support economic growth and sustainable development in the Pacific.

The bank said this would be done through increased access to finance, improved financial literacy and potential joint financing of infrastructure projects.

The three-year memorandum of understanding was signed by ANZ chief executive Mike Smith and Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop at ANZ centre in Melbourne.

“The Pacific region has significant economic potential, particularly with the growing trade and investment flows that are developing out of Asia,” Smith said. 

“As the largest bank in the Pacific, we want a successful future for the region and its people, and this agreement will see a co-ordinated effort from both ANZ and the Australian Government to ensure its potential can be achieved.” 

The MoU outlines priority areas for joint co-operation between ANZ and DFAT including:

• Financial inclusion, financial literacy and economic empowerment of women;
• innovative approaches to finance for small and medium sized businesses;
• exploring joint financing of infrastructure projects; and,
• More effective and timely communication on disaster and crisis relief

Both parties’ commitment to the MoU stemmed from a recent collaboration in the Solomon Islands, where ANZ and DFAT partnered 

to extend the roll-out of mobile phone banking to people in rural areas.

ANZ has operated in the Pacific for 135 years and today has the most extensive banking network in the region.

The bank is located in 12 countries – Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Timor Leste and New Caledonia.