What is ANZ?

ANZ is one of Australia's oldest and most prestigious banking institutions, with history back to the days when London controlled much of the finances of the nation. Now, it is the third biggest financial company in the country with millions of customers nationwide.

The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is most commonly known as ANZ and is a major player in the South Pacific and Asia region.

Founded in 1835 by Royal Charter in London, it was originally known as The Bank of Australasia and was created to deal with the finances of the whole region, including Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand.

It was not until after the fall of the British Empire that the bank broke away from its UK roots. In 1951, it merged with the Union Bank of Australia to form ANZ Bank.

Currently, ANZ sits behind National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank as the third largest financial institution in Australia, but it is the largest in New Zealand.

ANZ provides customers with a range of services, including home loans, credit cards, superannuation funds, personal loans, savings accounts and transactional services.

The Melbourne-based bank employs more than 32,000 workers and has annual profits of nearly $4 billion.

However, recently it was discovered that ANZ had become a major victim of the global credit crunch and had to wipe off more than $365 million as a result of exposure to the crisis.

Despite this, ANZ is in good shape.

Recently, ANZ chief executive officer Mike Smith said: "ANZ's underlying business is in good shape with growth in profit before provisions being driven by strong revenue growth, while the balance sheet has a conservative funding profile and high level of collective provision coverage."

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