ANZ has unveiled its makeover plans.
Chief executive officer Nuno Matos (pictured above) outlined the major bank's five-year growth strategy – dubbed ANZ 2030 – to investors earlier this week. The strategy focuses on expanding its in-house mortgage lending, strengthening proprietary lending and digital platforms, targeting new customer segments and phasing out Suncorp products from the market.
"[ANZ has] not consistently lived up to the expectations of our customers across all of our business, in particular, in Australia, retail and commercial," Matos said. "The most important strategic shift I want to underline today is how we are going to get back to growth by relentlessly focusing on customers across every segment and business of ANZ."
The gameplan includes changes across the retail and commercial businesses. In retail, the bank said it intends to boost its mortgage sales force by increasing the number of in-branch lenders by 50%. It will also upgrade its proprietary lending channels, integrating the new ANZ Plus digital front-end by September 2027. And to grow market share, ANZ will target new customer segments, including the mass affluent and individuals relocating to Australia.
ANZ is also planning a revamp of its commercial division, including an increase of nearly 50% of its banker workforce. To support this growth, the bank will launch a new "Commercial Bankers Academy" to develop and train talent. Additionally, ANZ aims to transition its eight million Suncorp Bank customers to its platform by June 2027, three years ahead of its original target.
Further priorities include streamlining operations to eliminate duplication, discontinuing initiatives that no longer align with its strategic direction and embedding its new leadership team. In addition to Matos, who took over as CEO in May, Troy Fedder was named general manager for proprietary lending earlier this month. Additionally, Pedro Rodeia, will join ANZ as its group executive for Australia retail on 17 November, while Christine Palmer begins as the new group chief risk officer on 1 December.
ANZ 2030 was revealed against the backdrop of an increasingly competitive lending landscape, marked by falling interest rates, expanded borrowing capacity and a surge in available lending options. That means, in this environment lenders have to step up their offerings to stay ahead and capture market share.
"Our first focus is to get back to basics and deliver our immediate priorities," Matos said. “In a competitive banking environment, this must include a focus on delivering differentiated and superior propositions, raising the standard of every digital and human interaction in our channels and avoiding disintermediation, while materially improving productivity levels."
Executives from ANZ said the new strategy could deliver $800 million in gross cost savings in 2026, while changes to Suncorp Bank could deliver synergies of $500 million.
ANZ had just over $503 billion in residential loans and financial leases as of July 2025, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the smallest portfolio among Australia's Big Four banks.
But ANZ’s challenges extend beyond its financial performance. The lender has been under increased scrutiny in recent months. In September, the major bank said it plans to slash approximately 3,500 jobs by September 2026 as part of Matos' cultural and organizational overhaul.
Just days later, ANZ was hit with a $240 million fine from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) for a number of violations, including "unconscionable conduct" for services provided to the Australian government, falsely reporting bond trading volumes by tens of billions of dollars and other misconduct across retail products and services over a number of years. The fine was the largest penalty ASIC has ever brought against one entity.
Matos was quick to point out that "the failings outlined are simply not good enough and they reinforce the case for change."
Despite the CEO's apologies, the bank still drew sharp criticism, including from FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano, who declared, “ANZ is a bank in crisis.”
The expansion of ANZ’s in-house lending division comes amid a broader industry shift, with some lenders increasingly prioritizing proprietary channels over third-party brokers.
It's unclear how many brokers will be impacted by the impending job cuts at ANZ. But a source told Australian Broker that the cuts are aimed more at reducing inefficiencies in ANZ's head office than targeting broker roles. In addition, the lender also plans to scale back its use of consultants and other third-party providers, impacting another 1,000 managed services contractors.
