Bank shift will cost 150 NZ jobs

By DANIEL RIORDAN

AMP Banking is closing most of its New Zealand operations and will run the business from Sydney.

About 150 of the direct banker's 200 New Zealand staff will lose their jobs in changes, announced yesterday, which the company hopes to complete by March.

A sales and marketing force of about 50 and a small number of help-desk staff will remain in New Zealand.

Those being made redundant will have first options on about 50 positions being created in Sydney.

Staff in lending and banking, communications, legal and compliance, credit and human resource functions will be made redundant, said AMP Banking's Sydney-based managing director, Stephen Balme, who flew to Auckland to break the news to his workers.

He said the changes were being made because it was more efficient for the New Zealand business to share back-office operations with the company's bigger Australian organisation.

New phone lines would be set up so New Zealand callers would still be greeted by Kiwis, even though these would be based in Sydney.

Most of the company's strategic partners were already in Sydney, and the company's ability to leverage off Sydney-based AMP's range of finance, treasury, legal and human resources services was a big advantage, said Mr Balme.

AMP Banking, founded in New Zealand as Ergo five years ago, has 35,000 customers, but has struggled to make money.

It hopes to break even this year.

It has assets of $2.5 billion and retail deposits of $325 million.

Mr Balme said the company was committed to growing its New Zealand business, and was preparing to introduce several innovations and form new alliances with NZ partners.

The business had stagnated over the past year, during the integration of newly acquired businesses, including $300 million in mortgages acquired from Citibank.

AMP Banking's Australian operations lost $A48 million ($64.3 million) last year, when the NZ operation saw a raft of management changes and high staff turnover.

One AMP insider said the timing of the move to Sydney reflected the increasing pressure AMP management were under to cut costs after the company's disastrous decision to acquire insurer GIO.