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Elliott still committed to Asia

ANZ remains committed to its Asian strategy after posting another record profit and doesn't envision changes to its payout ratio, according to ANZ chief financial officer and incoming chief executive Shayne Elliott.

Elliott still committed to Asia

Speaking to BlueNotes on video, Elliott said the bank's customers are increasingly doing business in Asia and the bank would continue to follow them.

“If you think about what ANZ does, a big chunk of that is helping customers with their trading capital flows in the region," he said. “Those trading capital flows today and very likely, in not just the medium term, the long term, are around Asia."

“That's where 80 per cent of Australia's exports go. We help those exports get to market. Absolutely we're committed to it, it's what we do."

Elliott said the bank was comfortable with its current payout ratio, which saw the bank pay a fully franked total dividend of $A1.81 this year.

“We have a payout ratio at the bank that says we believe we should pay out 65 per cent to 70 per cent of our earnings in dividends," he said. “We believe that's about right. We're very much at the top end of that range but we think the range is appropriate and sustainable over the long term.

Elliott said the credit environment in the markets in which ANZ operates have been tough but he remains confident there won't be a sharp increase in bad debts despite hitting the bottom of the provisioning cycle.

“I don't know that we're suggesting it can get any better on that side," he said. “We're just suggesting that it's not going to get dramatically worse. We think it will just float around these levels for a period of time. “

Elliott also touched on expense growth, the effect of the lower Australian dollar on the result and the bank's digital strategy. Watch the video above to find out more.

The views and opinions expressed in this communication are those of the author and may not necessarily state or reflect those of ANZ.

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