ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) agreed an arrangement for the Australian government to provide the banking group with a limited guarantee of up to AU$2 billion for 10 years for its current Pacific operations, according to a Friday Australian bourse filing.

ANZ will invest another AU$50 million in its Pacific banking systems to support ongoing operations and boost digital banking. It also committed to maintaining its fee-free existing program for international money transfers via its retail digital channels into the region.

The government assessed the probability of the guarantee being called as very low. It includes a yearly fee payable by the group to the government.

The bank expects the guarantee to begin in the second half of the year after legislation enabling it is enacted.

It has operations in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samosa, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, East Timor, Kiribati, and the Cook Islands.