Investec Australia, which has been in the local market for the past 20 years, will start operating as a foreign authorised deposit-taking institution on July 1.Investec plc announced yesterday that it has received Australian Prudential Regulation Authority approval to carry on a banking business here. The change will allow the local business to offer clients access to its parent's balance sheet.Investec Bank plc has a long-term rating of A1 from Moody's and BBB+ from Fitch. It has total assets of A$44 billion and customer deposits of A$24.7 billion.Investec Bank is owned by Investec plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a market capitalisation of more than A$8.5 billion.Investec Australia is headed by Milton Samios. He will become country head, with management responsibility for Investec Australia Ltd and the branch.Investec Australia Ltd will operate the ASX-listed property fund, emerging companies advisory and a corporate advisory business.Branch activities will include financial markets, resources finance, power and infrastructure finance, and corporate and acquisition finance.He says the group will be able to offer clients greater international reach, a stronger balance sheet and access to more of the bank's expertise.