Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are enjoying some time in the green on Thursday. At the time of writing, the ANZ share price is trading 1.24% higher at $29.28. In earlier trade, the bank's shares were up by almost 2.5% to reach a new, 52-week high of $29.64 shortly after midday.
ANZ's big four stablemates are also having a positive day of trade following the release of some upbeat employment figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning.
In other news from ANZ, the bank announced today that the new trade deal between the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia will see new opportunities for the bank's customers.
With ANZ shares enjoying their new 52-week high watermark, let's take a closer look at what the bank had to say on the trade deal.
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UK trade deal will benefit ANZ customers
ANZ has welcomed the free trade deal between Australia and the UK, which the two nations' Prime Ministers agreed to on Tuesday.
The trade deal will see some tariffs lifted or reduced on products traded between the two countries.
According to ANZ, the reduced tariffs will help create opportunities for its Australian business customers.
ANZ group executive institutional Mark Whelan commented on how the deal might benefit the bank's customers:
ANZ has been a trade bank since our inception… This trade agreement will create new opportunities for our customers by eliminating some of the barriers they face moving goods and capital to and from the UK.
He said removing tariffs will allow Australian exporters easier access to customers and markets in the UK. Particularly, in the tourism, agriculture, and professional services sectors.
ANZ head of UK & Europe Richard Dawson also said the UK is a "key market" to many of the bank's customers.
The trade deal is the UK's first bilateral agreement since it left the European Union earlier this year.
Currently, there is approximately $36.6 billion worth of trade between Australia and the UK. That figure is expected to increase due to the trade deal.
ANZ share price snapshot
ANZ shares have been performing well on the ASX so far this year.
Currently, the ANZ share price is around 29% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It has also gained almost 53% since this time last year.
The bank has a market capitalisation of around $83.3 billion and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 16.7. It has approximately 2.8 billion shares outstanding.
