ANZ sells its NZ asset finance business for NZ$762m

ANZ has announced the sale of its New Zealand asset finance business, UDC Finance, for NZ$762 million to Japan-based Shinsei Bank. 

In the announcement made today to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), ANZ said the sale was in line with its strategy to simplify business and the purchase price represented a price-to-book ratio of 1.2x net tangible assets of NZ$637 million. 

Following this, the sale also released more than NZ$2 billion of funding provided by ANZ New Zealand which was expected to further strengthen its balance sheet position. 

According to ANZ Bank New Zealand chief executive, Antonia Watson, Shinsei Bank would provide long-term capital to help maintain UDC’s customer lending operations in New Zealand and the firm  would continue to operate as an independent finance company. 

“In the COVID-19 ‘New Normal’, we are confident that UDC, as part of Shinsei Bank Group, will continue to grow and contribute  to the development of the New Zealand economy and help people and businesses in New Zealand with their financial needs,” Shinsei Bank’s chief executive, Hideyuki Kudo, said. 

Shinsei Bank Group had both banking and non-banking business divisions and operated both assets financing and vehicle and consumer lending businesses similar to those of UDC within Japan and offshore.