ANZ talks to sell stake in Malaysia's AmBank scrapped

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Aug 23): Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's (ANZ) talks to sell its 24% stake in Malaysian lender AMMB Holdings (AmBank) to retirement fund KWAP have been called off, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The collapse follows a joint announcement from AmBank and domestic peer RHB Bank late on Tuesday to drop merger talks after failing to reach mutually acceptable terms.

ANZ has been seeking to sell its AmBank stake since early last year as it divests of minority stakes in Asia, and after the Malaysian bank featured in investigations into alleged corruption at state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB).

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