ANZ calling time on One Direct

The business was launched about three years ago, but the bank was unable to build scale. The wind-down comes ahead of tough new rules on liquidity for online banking.

An ANZ spokeswoman said One Direct would not be taking any new loan or deposit applications. Rather, it would focus on building its key ANZ-branded products.

The existing 10,000 One Direct customers will continue to be offered the same mortgage products, although ANZ said deposit accounts might be closed towards the end of the year, with customers offered ANZ-branded high-interest online savings accounts.

The spokeswoman said One Direct would have required "significant investment" to turn it from a niche brand into a scale business.

One Direct operated as a separate entity within ANZ but was often regarded as an aggressive competitor in the home lending market given that its online distribution model allowed it to operate under a lower cost base.

"Our immediate priority is to maintain all our One Direct customers' business," said the spokeswoman.

Banks have looked to develop separate brands to attract the term deposits and online savings of a younger, tech-savvier group.

National Australia Bank recently launched UBank as its online offering.