ANZ has seen the departure of its head of private banking for the Northeast Asia region, this publication can exclusively reveal.

ANZ has lost its head of private banking for the Northeast Asia region, this publication can exclusively report.

Samuel Suen, who joined the bank in July 2010, resigned within the last month, a spokesperson for ANZ told WealthBriefingAsia.

Suen, who was based in Hong Kong, worked as an independent consultant before joining ANZ. Prior to that he served as global market manager for Citi Private Bank, and also previously worked at Merrill Lynch.

It is not yet known whether he is being replaced.

Cost cutting

The news follows the announcement that ANZ is cutting 70 positions from its wealth management arm, as reported by this publication in February.

At the time the bank said the majority of the impacted roles are based in Sydney and are mainly back-office type positions.

“These changes reflect the need to simplify our business given the more subdued economic environment and to ensure our customers are supported,” ANZ said in an emailed statement.

ANZ reported a 6.2 per cent jump in net profit for the period ending 31 December 2012, with the group’s chief executive, Mike Smith, saying: “Initiatives to manage costs and margins helped to sustain a good performance in the Australia division.”

APAC

At an investor briefing held in November last year by ANZ’s chief executive for private wealth management, Joyce Phillips said the APAC region is a central part of its growth strategy.

“On a global basis, wealth is rapidly shifting to Asia Pacific - in five years, from 2011-2016, our region’s share of private wealth will increase from 19 to 27 per cent. This clearly represents a tremendous opportunity to leverage ANZ’s regional presence and in particular, to create a strong regional private bank,” Phillips said.