There may be room for one more Australian bank to carve out a role for itself as an Asian regional bank, ANZ's CEO of Asia Pacific, Europe and America, Alex Thursby, said at a conference yesterday.Speaking at Finsia's Asia Financial Services Summit 2010 in Melbourne yesterday, Thursby said that the banking markets of Asia are very much national markets with very little cross-border banking being undertaken, other than by the handful of longstanding regional players, such as HSBC, Citibank and Standard Chartered.A handful of banks, including ANZ and DBS from Singapore, are seeking to push into the niche occupied by these global bank brands, while also seeking to broaden the market.Thursby said ANZ participated in 78 corporate bond issues in Asia over the last two years or so, with a total value of $49 billion. At the same time, it has added 175 institutional investors to its Asian client base. He pointed out one dilemma facing ambitious banks, which is that domestic banks maintain strong positions in their national markets and regulators are loath to allow international expansion.This creates opportunities. The ANZ expects the next decade will see further consolidation of the banking industry globally, such that there will eventually be only three or four truly global banks. The remaining banks will be regional champions or national banks. The ANZ will be one Asian regional bank, Thursby said, and there may be room for one more Australian bank to undertake such a role.