Black horse jockey may take ANZ reins

By PAULA OLIVER

If ANZ buys the National Bank it is likely that the black horse's chief jockey Sir John Anderson will take the reins of the new enterprise.

That, and other moves, could quell the ill-feeling surrounding the sale - particularly from National Bank customers who are unhappy at the prospect of ANZ taking over.

Sources in New Zealand and Australia have told the Business Herald that ANZ has investigated the idea of Anderson leading the bank, with other National Bank senior management, for about two years after the takeover.

It is believed that senior managers within the National Bank have been told not to fear for their jobs - because the purchase would be like a reverse takeover.

It is unknown, however, if the two banks will be run separately under different banners during the transition.

Bank Workers' union Finsec yesterday said it had heard that Anderson had been keeping senior management informed as the sale process moved ahead, but the union had no idea what was happening.

"We'd like to know," a spokeswoman said.

Talk of a deal between ANZ and British-based National Bank owner Lloyds TSB being imminent has increased in recent days.

Tomorrow ANZ reveals its annual result in Melbourne, and some analysts suggest that a sale announcement could come then.

But other analysts are less convinced - picking that it might be some time yet before ANZ and Lloyds TSB agree a price and secure Reserve Bank approval for the deal.

Australian Financial Review reports have indicated that ANZ and Lloyds TSB are close to agreement.

The only rival to ANZ now is a float of the National Bank, an idea believed to be set up by Macquarie Bank and Deutsche Bank as a second option to a trade sale.

ANZ would need to raise billions of dollars, probably via a rights issue, to go ahead with the deal.

Surveys have shown it could also face a customer backlash, with its satisfaction ratings languishing well behind the National Bank's and many people indicating that they will jump ship if the takeover goes ahead.

A move to keep the management of the National Bank intact could partly suppress this. It has also been suggested that ANZ might back its own operation into the National Bank, under the black horse banner. But abandoning its own brand would be a big move.

ANZ has argued that its satisfaction ratings are improving, and the latest AC Nielson Consumer Finance Monitor backs its stance.

The quarterly survey shows ANZ's personal customer satisfaction has gone up since the first quarter of this year, and it is sitting around the same level as Westpac and BNZ. ASB and the National Bank are out in front.