Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ) announced the completion of its acquisition of Royal Bank of Scotland PLC's (RBS) retail and commercial businesses in Singapore as it officially opens its Singapore branches today.

ANZ said it has rebranded five RBS branches and 19 ATMS. It has moved customers and staff to ANZ with minimal disruption.

In August last year, ANZ agreed to pay $687 million for RBS's Asian assets, saying they would boost the bank's operating income by about five per cent. The proposed acquisition gained regulatory approval last March.

"ANZ is now a leading international bank in Singapore with more than 300,000 customers and strong positions in retail banking, wealth management, private banking, commercial and institutional banking," Asia Pacific, Europe and America chief executive Alex Thursby said.

With the deal, ANZ expands its growing presence in Asia Pacific region. ANZ has purchased RBS assets in the Philippines, Vietnam, Hongkong and Taiwan.

In August 2009, ANZ announced it has agreed to acquire the banking assets of RBS in six Asian countries, as part of its strategy to become a super regional bank and to counter slowing growth in its domestic market.

ANZ predominantly services Australian and New Zealand customers, but is steadily building on its presence in the Asia-Pacific. It is one of the Big Four banks in Australia and is the largest bank in New Zealand. ANZ provides banking and financial products and services to its more than six million customers, including business, corporate and institutional clients.