ANZ to sell loans worth $6.5 billion in dealer finance biz

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group on Monday said it plans to sell its Esanda dealer finance business, which includes A$8.3 billion ($6.51 billion) in loans to motor vehicle dealers. "The sale of the Esanda Dealer Finance business is part of a broader group priority to actively manage our portfolio of businesses to ensure we use capital efficiently, as well as a focus on ANZ-branded products," ANZ Australia CEO Mark Whelan said in a statement. The sale does not include the ANZ commercial broker, commercial asset finance or direct-to-consumer asset finance businesses, it added. ANZ, like its global peers, is under pressure to free capital and is separately seeking to sell its minority stakes in Asian banks after Australian regulators introduced rules in 2013 requiring banks to subtract overseas minority investments from Tier 1 capital. An "information memorandum" is expected to be issued to potential bidders later this month, ANZ said. The bank will post first-half earnings on Tuesday. (Reporting by Swati Pandey)