From a London Coffee house to Melbourne and Asia in under 180 years..A vote of thanks to the bank at the retired officers lunch on 10 th December 2015..Doug Watson
Welcome
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To our new leader Shayne Elliott and for his address to us ... with insights and aspirations for ANZ
To the ANZ executive with us today retired and present ,great to catch up with Graham Hodges with whom I worked quite a few years ago
To the ANZ fraternity, friend’s, ladies and gentlemen, and to ANZ ROC who under Peter Pritchard do such a great job
It is indeed my pleasure to propose a vote of thanks to ANZ, particularly in this special year of our 180 year anniversary.
In saying this I recognise that we are a bank of many parts Asia, Union, ES&A, Grindlays. South Australia, but a survivor over many turbulent years
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So rather than share my” war stories” and there were many over my time
I would like to share with you some of the highlights which have made our bank, your bank so special and what it is today.
I limited this to just eight highlights, not just because of limited time, but to recognise who and where where we are ... the good luck which attaches to eight in the Asian culture and indeed to this bank, recognising however...You make your good luck
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ANZ from a London Coffee House to Melbourne and Asia in under 200 years
In my early days in London I had the opportunity to see dusty handwritten board minute books... They revealed much and in fact were a very good read.
Our founders were city merchants, power brokers and risk takers who met in city coffee houses...to make and follow money out to the Colonies to finance trade and gold....a merchant trader bank which still influences the bias of business today
Experienced men were recruited to set sail out to Australia the bottom of the globe then...Paul Keating used a rather more rude expression I remember...with boxes of gold sovereigns to set up in Sydney town <,Asia>
Unfortunately a number died of illness and bad passage on the way but were the forbearers of our enterprising culture ...the golden days .
Rumour has it that Mike Smith has a few bars of gold in his safe in docklands ..... the passion continues!!..
When we next review our logo should we tinge the true blue with a tint of gold?
Also the gold rush stands out when many banks and others failed to survive the boom and bust .....even the Baillieu Family just survived by paying out their creditors a farthing in the pound!!...
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An entrepreneurial bank, brave and a survivor.
In the 70s ,after the earlier merger of Asia and Union we saw the coming together of ANZ and SCOTTIE ..then to survive in recognition of world trade and business trends, an uplift from the UK to Melbourne ..a daunting task given the need for re-structure and origination of special Acts of Parliament .
But done well to provide the foundations of our bank today.
And on these experiences, to survive the property crash of the 80s and the recent GFC
It is remarkable that when established ANZ was one of 10 British Overseas Banks to trade in the Colonies ....today only three have survived...HSBC, ANZ and the struggling Standard Chartered...so we are a well proven survivor and the challenges have proven us.
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An innovative bank in the mercantile tradition.
Since our early days the bank has been at the fore-front in development of finance systems and product which have been needed to support ANZ bias as to international and mercantile business.
A leader in the development of Swift International payment systems
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Advanced trade and finance techniques, the major trader in the Aussie currency, more recently, a forerunner in the internationalisation of Yuan currency
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A leader in new markets.
Today ANZ is ranked 3rd in terms of market capitalisation and has been a top ten company for over 10 years ....much of this a result of brave steps taken earlier to move down- under .
We now have over 500,000 share holders but much understated as super funds count for the investments of many and figures do not include staff shares in trust.
We have produced good results and income for our owner’s... but short term volatility in markets can distort values.
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A people bank
Yes, our forbearers our staff today and in the future...the bank has talented hard working innovative people...the people are the bank ...
.Unfortunately this is often ignored by our pollies and newspapers alike.. for the cheap shots.
It’s good that we now have leader and a couple of cabinet people with investment and traditional banking backgrounds
We are a world people with 200 cultures and 90 languages.
If you go into Royal Bank Branch today .multi cultural both customers and staff yet a few years ago many here today will remember this was our major Jewish centre
Significantly since the transfer of domicile there has been a transformation in the makeup of staff,
51,000 staff across 34 markets but now 32,000 outside Australia and New Zealand.
.The bank is an leading exporter of bank finance and training systems to many of the countries where we are now.
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A rewarding bank to those who have made this happen.
ANZ has.
Financed our homes.
Provided career and travel and education opportunities.
Sport and recreation
One of the first with medical schemes and good pension plans.
Allowed us to participate in bank profits.
Allowed us to become owners with share plans.
This has provided both incentive and a base for a good self- reliant life after ANZ.
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The future.
If I may I would like to lift the curtain a little...say the next 20 years out to200 years.
Perhaps a joint Chinese new year function with our overseas alumni... 3 D images beamed into our respective celebrations depending on what high tech will do for us.
.Fantasy but some of our leading film makers vision what we will do ..let’s go off to star wars!!
Customers currently 10mill worldwide... Is 15 million out of the question?.. with new markets and ANZ over- arched into India and Asia all transacting electronically?
Our Aussie Colombo plan graduates making greater contact and reach into far corners of emerging markets in Asia,
Increased gender diversification at senior levels..Today .at ANZ ROC we have about 100 ladies out of a 1000... this will change
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Creation of new means of financing our business
My father in law once said nothing wrong in chasing the dollar...perhaps that’s why I joined ANZ?
But we will surely tie up with major super funds to provide the systems and expertise to use their funds to finance customers... Actually it’s happening... I am a trustee of a boutique super fund ..in syndication with ANZ on infrastructure deals.. but too many are taking a clip on the way... .lets deal direct?
New finance systems outside the big four
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But dangers... block chain has been developed by Masters who also originated credit default swaps which when misused led to the GFC crises ..so some care but we know that our bank is into this with visits to centres of innovation and development.
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Yes thank you ANZ for where we have been ,where we are today and where we will be in the future
Please a vote of thanks.... to a special and unique organisation.
Please raise your glasses to the past the present and future of your bank .
Thank you .
Doug Watson
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