Axe set to fall on ANZ jobs

The shake-up, over the next few months, is expected to result in hundreds of middle-management jobs being axed as ANZ reshapes itself along geographic lines, according to bank insiders.

While Mr Smith has used the management shake-up to place his stamp on the organisation, the changes are partially aimed at trimming costs as revenue comes under pressure from a broader banking slowdown.

"We are coming off the back of 15 years of economic growth into a very different environment," he said yesterday.

Staff were told yesterday that the changes would trim first and second layers of management beneath Mr Smith and the senior management circle.

An announcement relating to further job losses and a mid-level reshuffle, mostly across the institutional business, is expected to be made to staff next week.

Further cuts are expected to be announced next month and in November, when the bank trims numbers further down the management chain.

Staff that deal directly with customers, including tellers and phone bankers, will not be affected.

Mr Smith yesterday said the new business model created the right structure to deliver on his aim to create a super-regional bank, spanning Australia and into Asia.

Mr Smith, who became chief executive just 10 months ago, had hoped to oversee an ambitious expansion into Asia.

But he recently conceded a falling share price and write-downs in Australia had meant any acquisitions were off the agenda for now.

A key winner from the shake-up will be retail banking boss Brian Hartzer, who will be elevated to head the bank's flagship Australian operations.

Elsewhere, the bank will be split along New Zealand, the Asia-Pacific region and global institutional reporting lines.

Meanwhile, the small to mid-sized banking business will again be folded into the retail bank.

Insiders say the new structure is partly in response to environmental changes, with ANZ shifting away from its specialist business model under previous chief executive John McFarlane.

ANZ employs more than 37,700 people around the world. About 20,000 people are based in Australia.

Brokerage Macquarie Equities expects other banks, led by ANZ and Commonwealth Bank, to start cutting jobs as their revenue comes under pressure.

Macquarie analyst Tom Quarmby said banks were battling against slowing lending growth at the same time as margins were coming under pressure from higher funding costs.

Figures released yesterday show Australian home loan approvals fell for the sixth consecutive month, a response to interest rates hovering at 13-year highs.

An ANZ spokesman yesterday confirmed jobs were expected to be lost under the new structure but said there were no targets.

"This is about getting the right organisational structure for the bank," the spokesman said.