The ANZ Banking Group has found itself being lobbied by ING Australia dealer groups to maintain non-bank branding.
The lobbying follows ANZ’s acquisition of the ING businesses and its announcement that while it would be initially maintaining the ING brand in the marketplace, some change was probable after 12 months.
However, Money Management has learned that there is widespread concern within ING Australia’s dealer groups that the replacement name for ING Australia should not make mention of ANZ.
A key manager said the “general sentiment is that any new brand needs to be something that people are comfortable with and doesn’t directly associate with ANZ”.
“The concern is that while ANZ is a very good brand, it is nevertheless a bank, and a lot of customers might not be that close to ANZ or to any other bank,” he said.
“You might find that customers may feel more comfortable if they are insured by a separately named entity, even if the organisation is owned by ANZ.”
On September 25, ANZ acquired full ownership of the ING Australia joint venture with ING, including dealer groups FSP, RetireInvest, Millennium3 and ING Financial Planning.
In terms of the acquisition, the ING Australia life protection and wealth brand can remain in place for up to 12 months while any new branding is determined.
The manager said there had been many replacement names suggested within the ING dealer groups for the ING Australia brand, some of which were “appropriate and others quite comical”.
“There is support for Mercantile Life, which I personally think is a wonderful name, and also for a return to Mercantile Mutual, which is what ING Australia used to be called.”
At the same time, there had been widespread opposition expressed to the adoption of “any name along the lines of ANZ Life”, he said.
However, Millennium3 joint managing director Barry Martin said he believed the name eventually chosen would have little impact on the dealer group.
“Our advisers are confident enough in what happens at Millennium3 not to be too affected by a name change at ING Australia.”
He added that ANZ and ING Australia had launched an investigation into the “implications for brand awareness of a name change and what might be the best name for ING Australia”.
