Evaluation of Ethical and Financial Performance of ANZ

Question: Discuss about the Evaluation of Ethical and Financial Performance of ANZ. Answer: Introduction: This report aims to recommend the investors to assist in their decision of investment in the shares of Australia New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) (Shareholder.anz.com 2017). The recommendation will be based on the ethical performance and financial performance of the company. There is an increasing concern for ethical practices in the business. The companies are raising their ethical standard in the conduct of their business operations. Ethical performance is also mandated by the governing bodies and statutory provisions. Financial performance of a company is of utmost importance to all the concerned stakeholders. The employees are concerned of the job security, suppliers are interested to know the liquidity position of the company, and shareholders base their investment decision on the performance of the company. ANZ is engaged in providing best class of banking and financing facilities to personal and retail customers, small business houses, big corporate houses and institutional customers. It is an Australian based bank founded in 1835 and serving the customers in New Zealand, Middle East, Asia Pacific Region, United States and Europe (Shareholder.anz.com 2017). The report covers evaluation of ethical performance of the company and financial performance of the company. The actions taken by the company to deal with the social issues and the current financial performance is highlighted in the report. Based on the analysis, a recommendation on investment will also be provided to the client. Evaluation of ethical performance: Every company faces a number of ethical dilemmas. Some of these dilemmas are specific to the industry or the company. However, reporting and disclosure, environmental and social issues are the main ethical dilemmas fundamental to every business (Lal 2015). ANZ is constantly engaged in dealing with the social issues of enhancing the interest of stakeholders (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). The company invests in development of the community by building opportunity and prosperity. The business aligns its interest with the expectation of the community. They act ethically to build business reputation and gain community trust. The business has specific GIVE program designed to support the community causes (Anz.com 2017). This program enables stakeholders to donate for charitable causes, increases financial inclusion and financial literacy of people, encourages employees to donate their time and skill for development of community and provides emergency relief in case of disasters. The company finances charities and projects through grants and brings a positive difference through various sponsorships. The company has a culture of respecting its customers, suppliers and communities at large. The company has standard of human rights: Respecting Comm unities and People, Human Rights Approach of ANZ to provide fair treatment to employees. To make better decisions and connect with the clients, it promotes inclusive, diverse work force and uses innovative ideas to identify new markets. The company supports the emotional and physical wellbeing of employees, provides a safe working system and promotes a healthy work force. The company invests in learning and development of employees to help build a global career. The employees are given right to express their concerns, ideas and opinions (Anz.com 2017). The company provides simple and easy- to understand banking experience responsibly to build lasting and strong relationship with the customers. It also provides financial assistance to customers who are in crisis. As the organization is in the banking sector, it also has responsibility in relation to business lending, providing secure banking and following a code of banking practice. These demonstrate the extent of the business succe ss in dealing with ethical issues. It works in close connection with the customers to ensure lending of money to socially sensitive industries. As a result the governance risk is reduced (Anz.com 2017). ANZ is a subscriber of standard of good banking practice (Anz.com 2017). Thus, the company is quite successful in terms of addressing the ethical dilemma of social issues. Evaluation of the Financial Performance: Above table indicates that net interest income of the bank has been rising continuously, though the rate of increase is showing a negative trend. In 2014, interest income increased by 8%, in 2015 the rate was 5%, while in 2016 the rate of increase is 3%. The higher net interest income is due to the reduced interest expenses. There is an increase in the provision of loan loss. This has resulted in the reduction of net income after loss provision. In the year 2016, the non- interest income of the bank has reduced by 13.71%. Non- interest expense has increased from AUD 9503 million in 2015 to AUD 10682 million in 2016 (Anz.com 2017). On comparing the net income before taxes for the four years in consideration, ANZ was in the best position in 2015. Net Income after tax is lowest in 2016 and stands at AUD 5720 million. The income available for distribution was AUD 6304 million in 2013, AUD 7265 million in 2014, AUD 7492 million in 2015 and AUD 5709 million in 2016, indicating the lowest i ncome in 2016. Above table shows the ratio analysis for a period of 10 years. Analysis of operating profit ratio reveals that profitability position of the bank varies between the ranges of 5046% to 31.56% with the ratio for 2016 being 39.84 (Anz.com 2017). For the year 2016, EBT margin of the company is third lowest, net margin is lowest and return on assets is lowest during the period concerned. Thus, the profitability of the company shows a negative trend in the period 2016. The profit is below market expectations and it may result in dividend cut. On the basis of above analysis, it is advisable that investors conduct further research. The Income Statement cannot be taken as sole criteria to determine the feasibility of investment. The reduced profitability may be the result of a major change in the financial position. The financial position and analysis of assets and liabilities should also be considered for arriving at the final decision. Recommendation: Australian and New Zealand Banking Group is one of the largest banks on the basis of market capitalization. The company has a proud and long history in terms of ethical performance and financial stability. But the current profitability of the company gives a negative trend, suggesting an increase in the risk level. The bank has recently failed to meet the expectation of the customers with respect to prohibition of the culture of drugs and alcohol. Thus, the investment in the ANZ may prove to be quite risky. However, this recommendation is based on the consideration of only two aspects of the business: profitability and ethical performance. The investment choice needs the evaluation of the financial position of the company, any major change in the strategic decision of the company and the trend of share prices of the company. This is the major limitation of the report. Conclusion: In conclusion, it can be stated that Australian and New Zealand Banking Group is one of the major banks of Australia. It caters to the needs of both, individual customers as well as business houses. ANZ invests in enhancing the interest of stakeholders and supports the community causes by GIVE Program. It has a culture of supporting the wellbeing of employees, their learning and development. In terms of financial performance, the company is more or less consistent. However, the profitability position of the company shows a declining trend for the year 2016. Though the interest income has increased but the reduced income from other operations and the increased non- interest expenses has contributed in the declining position. If the profitability and ethical performance are considered, it is highly recommended not to invest in the company. References: Anz.com, 2017. Code of Banking Practice | ANZ. [online] Anz.com. Available at: https://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability/customers/code-banking-practice/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2017]. Anz.com, 2017. Community | ANZ. [online] Anz.com. Available at: https://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability/community/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2017]. Anz.com, 2017. Employees | ANZ. [online] Anz.com. Available at: https://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability/employees/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2017]. Anz.com, 2017. Responsible business lending | ANZ. [online] Anz.com. Available at: https://www.anz.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability/customers/responsible-business-lending/ [Accessed 19 Jan. 2017]. Anz.com. (2017). ANZ Shareholder Centre [online] Anz.com. Available at: https://www.shareholder.anz.com/our-company/profile [Accessed 10 Jan. 2017]. Epstein, M.J. and Buhovac, A.R., 2014.Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Irvine, B. and Smith, S., 2014. Unaudited financial statements.Director. Lal, K., 2015. Effects of Ethical Behaviour on Corporate Performance.CLEAR International Journal of Research in Management, Sciences Technology,5(10). Landier, A., Sraer, D. and Thesmar, D., 2013.Banks' exposure to interest rate risk and the transmission of monetary policy(No. w18857). National Bureau of Economic Research. Shareholder.anz.com, 2017. Corporate Sustainability Review 2016 [online] Available at: https://www.shareholder.anz.com/sites/default/files/2016_corporate_sustainability_report.pdf [Accessed 16 Jan. 2017].