Australian Bank ANZ Looks to Alibaba, Google for Ideas, CEO Says

[Dow Jones] Banks need to look beyond the walls of their own industry if they want to beat the competition as technology rapidly evolves, according to Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AU) CEO Mike Smith. "For banks, it is not enough to say: 'I have to look at what Westpac (WBC.AU) does or what HSBC (HSBC) does or what Citi (C) does'," he says. "I have to work out what is Alibaba (BABA) doing? What is Google (GOOG) doing? What is Amazon (AMZN) doing? Because that customer experience that they are creating, people are going to ask: 'Why you can't do that as a bank?'" The biggest problem for banks, he says, is that they are designed around an accounting system, rather than a "customer-driven system." So the transition may be a big challenge. "I think banks who get this right are really going to benefit enormously," though, Mr. Smith says, "because then you can access markets you couldn't before." ([e-mail]; Twitter: @RhiannonHoyle)

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