Investec Bank (Australia) has put both its professional finance and its asset finance and leasing divisions on the market, as it pursues a strategy of turning its business into one based on investment banking activities.Yesterday, Investec announced that it had appointed advisers to look at options for the two businesses. It will consider a sale or joint venture "with an appropriate supportive partner."In the meantime, the divisions will continue servicing clients as usual. Professional finance is a full-service bank for medical practitioners and other high net worth professional customers. It has around 20,000 clients, assets of around A$2.3 billion and employs 230 people.The move comes as a surprise. In recent months the bank has added a transaction account to its professional finance product set and extended its service to financial planners.And it was only a couple of years ago that Investec doubled the size of its asset finance and leasing business, when it bought Alliance Equipment Finance. The business has assets of about $140 million and employs 150 people.Investec's acting chief executive, Ciaran Whelan, said: "Professional finance has been very successful, but it is in a very competitive space. We are looking for a much more efficient use of our capital."The bank has struggled to return to consistent profitability since the financial crisis and this is its second restructure this year. Following the departure of chief executive David Clarke earlier this year, the bank announced that it was scaling back or withdrawing from securities dealing, equity capital markets and structured finance products.Once the latest restructure is complete, South Africa and the United Kingdom will be the only parts of the Investec group offering full-service banking. The Australian business will be aligned with operations in Canada, India and Hong Kong, which focus on origination and advice but do not provide balance sheet services.Whelan said the future of the local operation was in corporate advisory, property funds, aviation, commodity and resources finance, project finance and acquisition finance.