Why it matters: The $4.9 billion ANZ/Suncorp banks is the largest banking transactions since the GFC.Suncorp wants to focus on insurance, which is getting harder to manage due to the climate crisis.
On Friday, the ACCC deputy chairman Mick Keogh said the acquisition – the biggest banking transaction since the global financial crisis – would be “to the detriment of customers” and raised the risk of coordination between major banks on loan pricing.“The proposed acquisition increases the likelihood that the major banks adopt a ‘live and let live’ approach to each other, aimed at maintaining or protecting their existing market shares,” Mr Keogh said.
While the ACCC has rejected the decision, the banks will appeal the decision to the competition tribunal to get it overturned. ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliot said this was an option he was exploring “Together with external economic and industry experts, we determined that this deal would not adversely impact the competitive dynamics in the markets in which we operate.“
It comes after months of back and forth that has frustrated both sides of the transaction – Friday’s decision comes more than a year after the $4.9 billion merger was announced in July 2022.The ACCC’s objections were not isolated to the home loan market, saying the risk to business lending and agribusiness lending in Queensland was particularly acute.“Suncorp Bank is an important competitor for business customers in Queensland.