ANZ CEO discusses work-from-home policies and relations with China

Banking & Financial Services
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Gerard Florian Group Executive Technology & Group Services | Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

The CEO of ANZ, Shayne Elliott, recently spoke with Neil Mitchell on 3AW about various topics, including the bank's operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and its relationship with China.

Elliott revealed that a significant portion of ANZ staff has been working from home since mid-March. "If we exclude the branches, people working in branch, we've got 95 percent of our people are working from home," he stated. He added that although they are ready to bring employees back to the office, it will not happen immediately for everyone. "We won't have everybody back...we could have about a third of our people in the buildings at any point in time."

Discussing why returning to the office is important, Elliott cited collaboration and superior technology infrastructure as key benefits. "A lot of what we do is not just people sitting at their desk beavering away; it is actually reliant on communication and collaborating with others," he explained.

On international matters, Elliott expressed concern over deteriorating relations with China and its impact on business. "It's raised the risk profile around certain parts of our business," he said. Despite this tension, Elliott does not foresee ANZ withdrawing from China but anticipates potential changes in operations' scale and breadth.

Regarding China's Belt and Road Initiative and Victoria's involvement through an MoU, Elliott noted his understanding of both sides but questioned state-level agreements versus federal ones. "I struggle a little bit to understand how individual states can sign up to things like that," he commented.

When asked about loan deferrals amid economic challenges posed by COVID-19 restrictions, Elliott mentioned they were necessary but acknowledged uncertainty regarding long-term impacts: "It is masking what's really going on...we don't really know how many of those people can get back on their feet."

Elliott also addressed concerns over Australia's housing market outlook amidst reduced demand due to decreased immigration rates caused by border closures during pandemics: “We think prices are going to moderate...somewhere between 10% -15% over next 18 months.”

Finally touching upon whether ANZ could mediate between Australian & Chinese governments given existing connections within Asia-Pacific region; however no formal request has yet been made towards such efforts according Mr.Elliot himself who stated: “We'd always be available [for] those sorts [of] things.”