March 3 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd appointed Mark Evans as the country head of Singapore and the head of South East Asia, India and Middle East on Thursday, after Vishnu Shahaney decided to retire after 40 years with the lender.

Evans has worked at ANZ since 2009, and prior to this held senior roles at HSBC Holdings and positions at the National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the bank said in a statement.

"Singapore is a critical market for the Bank given its status as a key financial hub," said Simon Ireland, managing director, international at ANZ.

"As one of most experienced banking executives in both our home markets and in Asia, Mark is well placed to drive strategic opportunities, growth and value for our business and our customers."

The Melbourne-headquartered bank has been steadily losing home loan market share in Australia since 2019, and said last month that it had made "solid progress" to improve its systems.

Evans will relocate from Sydney to Singapore in May and report to Ireland, while Shahaney will depart the Bank in July to ensure a smooth transition, the statement added. (Reporting by Navya Mittal; Editing by Rashmi Aich)