ANZ Banking Group will launch a formal process to sell its 39$ stake in Indonesia’s Panin Bank. ANZ intends to raise around A$1 billion from the sale which will boost its capital position. Australian banks are attempting to raise capital and sell assets after a domestic regulator ordered them to set aside more reserves against their oversized mortgage books. ANZ has already unveiled an A$3 billion share sale. It is also in the final stages of selling its car dealer finance business. The sale of stake in Panin Bank will be part of ANZ’s efforts to exit legacy equity holdings in Asian banks and avoid further dilutive equity raisings. Investment bank Goldman Sachs is running the sales process for ANZ. The move comes just one week after ANZ launched a $3 billion equity raising to avoid being rushed into asset sales, including its $4.6 billion portfolio of stakes in Asian banks, which have long been touted as a way to meet increasing capital requirements.
