Australia's ANZ Bank is looking to consolidate its online broking operations.

Australia's ANZ Bank is looking to consolidate its online broking operations with a $212 bid for the shares in broker Etrade which it does not already own. ANZ owns 34.2 per cent of Etrade, Australia's second-ranked online broker, and is bidding for the remaining 65.8 per cent of the company. ANZ head of personal banking Brian Hartzer described ANZ as the "logical owner" of Etrade, with ANZ clients comprising one third of the customer base. The ANZ bid comes after merger talks between Etrade and rival IWL broke down last year.