Could an Australian firm really rank among the largest foreign banks in China? ANZ certainly thinks it can become one of the big boys and it is beefing up its hiring there.

“We plan to significantly grow the number of people we have in China to support our growth strategy…We have aspirations to be a top-four foreign bank in this market and we will be recruiting in China over the next year to support our ambitious growth plans,” Alistair Bulloch, ANZ CEO North East Asia, tells us.

ANZ’s hiring drive involves several business and support functions, including retail and institutional, operations, risk management, finance, and technology.

The firm wants professionals with local market knowledge and networks. Bulloch explains: “These people may be Chinese nationals, Australian nationals with an Asian background or they may be foreign nationals with considerable experience and expertise in Greater China and Asia. We do consider Australian bankers in specific roles where the skill-sets aren't available in local markets.”

Bulloch’s mission to recruit seasoned, well-networked bankers might be made easier by the current plight of large US and European banks, many of which have been scaling back in Beijing and Shanghai.

“The pool of these type of people is relative small in China. However, there may be less competition for these candidates in the year ahead as other foreign players have been forced to retreat from the Chinese market at a time when ANZ continues to invest,” he adds.

ANZ’s current headcount in China is still comparatively small. It employs about 150 people, spread across Beijing and Shanghai branches and a Guangzhou representative office. Staff are also seconded to partner firms Bank of Tianjin and Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank.

The bank plans to grow both through these partnerships – which serve mass market, mass affluent and SME markets – and via its own brand, which focuses on retail, and large corporate and institutional customers in sectors such as natural resources, manufacturing and financial institutions.