ANZ is looking to increase its involvement in the superannuation arena in conjunction with the rebranding of its wealth management arm from ING to OnePath.
“The whole superannuation area would be one sector of enhanced focus for us as part of the change. With Jeremy Cooper’s report and the government’s response to that what it basically sets out for the industry, presuming it eventually makes its way into legislation, is a new path for how super will be delivered and that’s got some opportunities,” ANZ chief executive Philip Chronican said.
“A low-cost default super offering with a lot more straight-through processing under the SuperStream proposal I think charts a path for superannuation that takes it into a new territory,” he said.
“When you add that to the lift in the SG (superannuation guarantee) contributions rate from 9 to 12 per cent it means it’s going to be a bigger industry with fewer more cost-efficient players in it and that creates an opportunity for us to play a significant role.”
In regard to the existing products and services managed across the group Chronican said there would be no radical changes, with only those changes having to be made through amendments to the law to be adopted.
The rebrand to OnePath will see the ANZ wealth group operate as one unit under the stewardship of John Van Der Wielen and will bring together the ANZ investment lending business, ETrade, ANZ financial planning, ANZ private bank, as well as some insurance activities with the other services and products currently being offered under the ING Australia banner.
While the details of the restructure of the wealth management business are yet to be determined, Chronican wouldn’t rule out the possibility of some rationalisation within the organisation.
“We haven’t predetermined that but it would be hard to imagine we wouldn’t take the opportunity to merge a few functions,” he said.
