...October 26, 2022 SYDNEY (S&P Global Ratings) Oct. 27, 2022--Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) appears to have turned a corner in its home lending. The Australian major bank announced solid results for the year ended Sept. 30, 2022, with cash earnings from continuing operations up 5%. ANZ (##-/Stable/A-1+) should be able to capitalize on improvements in its processing of home loan applications, such as cutting approval times. Home lending rebounded in the last quarter of fiscal 2022 to around 4% annualized growth following a flat trajectory in the preceding quarters. The bank's plan to launch a fully automated digital home loan focused on the refinance market in 2023 should further support its home lending, in our view. The planned acquisition of Suncorp-Metway Ltd. (SML, A+/Positive/A-1) should also help ANZ solidify its competitive position and geographic diversity. Over the next two years, earnings should remain robust, benefitting from improving interest margins. We...
