More opportunity ahead for ANZ on productivity

ANZ’s investment in its regional operations is beginning to pay dividends after the business delivered strong cost-to-income and productivity results in 2014, according to ANZ Group chief operating officer Alistair Currie.

"For the second reporting year in succession we’ve put on more operating volume for less absolute cost."
Alistair Currie, Chief Operating Officer, AN

“We’re now extracting value after some years of investment in putting our regional operations platform into place and starting the consolidation and upgrading of the operating systems that conduct all our transactional processing,” he says. 

“So our hubs are really now starting to kick out value.”  

For the second consecutive year, ANZ’s operations business increased its output volume for less cost, leading to a 12 per cent lift in productivity. Currie says the improvement is broad based. 

“We’re putting more and more work into lower-cost locations,” he says. “We’re automating processes more than we’ve done in the past and everything is being done at higher quality.” 

This provides an improved experience for everyone, including customers, Currie says, as it allows the bank to get things right the first time and quickly.

Currie believes the group will keep delivering operational improvement – chief executive Mike Smith said at the results announcement “frankly there’s more gas in the tank” – with further ANZ investment in its own technology. Watch the video above to find out more.