ANZ to complete NZ consolidation next year

Prepares to adopt Systematics core banking platform.

ANZ New Zealand has begun training 4000 frontline staff in preparation for turning on its consolidated core banking platform next year.

In line with a November 2010 plan to simplify its IT systems, the bank has completed rebuilding a Systematics platform that was previously used by its National Bank subsidiary.

A spokesman said ANZ New Zealand had migrated 380,000 customer accounts to the new platform and cut 50 products and fee plans to reduce complexity.

Last week, ANZ New Zealand reported spending $117 million ($NZ147 million) on the move in the nine months to June (pdf).

A spokesman said the bank was within its $10 million it had expected to spend on the project between April and 30 September this year, in addition to the $108 million it had spent in the six months prior (pdf).

ANZ New Zealand initially expected to adopt the Systematics platform by “late 2011”, but chief executive officer David Hisco told investors last week that the move would occur “next year”.

“The next steps are to go through an extensive testing and deployment phase and there is also ongoing staff training taking place,” a spokesman said.

“Our intention is for this to be a seamless change.”

On Friday, ANZ New Zealand announced a statutory profit of $582 million ($NZ735 million) in the nine months to 30 June, including an after-tax charge of $80.8 million ($NZ102 million) on the core banking IT project.

The wider ANZ Group would run a total of three separate core banking platforms – including the Systematics platform in New Zealand – after the project concluded.

Last month, the bank’s Australian chief information officer Anne Weatherston said its business strategy did not call for the replacement or further consolidation of those platforms.

“Our analysis of the strategic requirements of ANZ’s business has persuaded us that in the next immediate years, we are not constrained by the capability of our core business,” she said at the launch of its six-year IT strategy.

Edited at 1.15pm on 24 August: This story originally indicated that ANZ New Zealand had spent $147 million on the Systematics project in the nine months to 30 June. This should have been in New Zealand dollars.