Best NDF house – ANZ

ANZ secures Best NDF house award

In a year characterised by falling volatility and patchy liquidity, ANZ stood out from the crowd with its tailored customer service and bespoke pricing for non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) – a growing market in Asia. 

ANZ’s commitment in recent years to grow its NDF business is paying off, as its peers voted it Best NDF house in the FX Markets Asia FX Awards for the second consecutive year. NDFs are gaining traction in Asia‑Pacific, given the majority of Asian emerging market currencies are not yet fully convertible. What makes ANZ different is its dual approach to pricing, with an electronic streaming offering for clients and a bespoke voice service that customers value, even when working remotely.

-Ling Yeoh, head of principal trading and head of markets for South-east Asia, ANZ, says: “We made a big push on NDFs about three years ago; we stream NDFs and continue to refine the product offering, which operates during Asian time zones. We continue to tweak it because streaming prices and bespoke prices are somewhat different.

“One of our unique selling propositions is that our bespoke pricing on voice is almost second to none. The electronic offering shows customers where indicative levels are but, for a tighter, closer spread, voice trading does the job.”

This flexible and customer-centric approach is vital, says Edmund Tan, head of Asia FX investor sales. “We continue to leverage our onshore-offshore network and expertise to deliver insights, liquidity and execution advice to help our clients navigate this unique trading environment,” he says. 

Coming off a strong 2020, the challenge of low volatility and fear of the unknown in terms of the Covid‑19 pandemic meant ANZ had to find new ways to connect with clients wearied by the pandemic and lockdowns.  

The FX teams developed innovative ways of connecting with clients other than purely over the telephone. Edmund says: “We have put a lot of emphasis on mental health, wellbeing and sensitivity when engaging with clients, some of whom are fearful of being exposed to the virus. It’s about having that personal touch.”

Looking ahead, ANZ is set to expand its NDF business further into frontier markets to offer clients offshore solutions in markets where there is limited liquidity. 

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