ANZ is getting "closer and closer" to the point where its diminishing institutional banking and surplus Asian banking interests are pared down to a level that suits the bank.ANZ sliced risk weighted assets in institutional banking by 13 per cent, or  A$19 billion in assets, to $133 billion over one year to March 2017.Echoing themes set since he assumed the CEO's post at the start of 2016, Shayne Elliott told investors yesterday: "We're focused on business that generates a return to shareholders".Within institutional banking, Elliot said, the bank "must focus on those customers that value what we do and are prepared to pay for it."Mark Whelan, group executive, institutional, said the bank was "getting to the bottom in a risk weighted assets sense," adding that "we have built assets in Australia."ANZ produced a second half in succession of reduced expenses, a stark shift from the profligate cost growth of around seven per cent in 2015.Staff numbers at the bank fell seven per cent over the year to March 2017 (on a "full time equivalent basis"), with the fall concentrated in Asia and institutional. Even in Australia, FTEs were down five per cent.The bank took care in its half year report to omit any mention of a perennial of a bank reporting system, the "jaws", or income growth relative to cost growth, perhaps because of a decline in revenue (on a statutory basis, even if static in the cash profit measure).ANZ's management did not inject any great colour to yesterday's feature in the Financial Review on its enthusiasm for "Scaled Agile", other than to clarify its dedication to the proprietary "agile" variant of a particular US vendor."ANZ already uses agile to deliver around 20 per cent of technology and digital projects" the bank said.Kath Bray, managing director products at ANZ, will be the executive responsible for overseeing "the agile transformation within the Australia Division, reporting to Fred Ohlsson, group executive Australia," bank said.No restructuring charge was in the works, Elliott said, though he did not shut down conjecture among analysts that one might be justified in time.??Work to date may already be helping lighten costs.There is "less duplication in project delivery teams," Michelle Jablko, ANZ's chief financial officer, said.