ANZ: Talks With Royal Bank Of Scotland Progressing, Incomplete

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) said Thursday talks to buy some of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc's (RBS.LN) Asian assets are progressing but remain incomplete.

In a statement, Melbourne-based ANZ said it raised A$2.2 billion through its share purchase plan, which was more than originally flagged. Chief Executive Mike Smith said this was a "strong endorsement of ANZ's super regional strategy".

The group has been in talks buy RBS' commercial and retail banking operations. It hasn't said which countries it wants to buy in, but Smith recently said that the lender is targeting general growth in countries including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

ANZ also said that, while the economic outlook remains subdued and unpredictable, it is sticking to its previous guidance on bad debt provisioning. It said in late May it expects its second half provisioning charge to be around 20% higher than the A$1.435 billion charge booked for the six months to March 31.

-By Lyndal McFarland, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-3-9292-2093; lyndal.mcfarland@dowjones.com

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