ACCC rejects $4.9b ANZ acquisition of Suncorp Bank

afr.com:

The competition regulator has rejected ANZ’s $4.9 billion takeover of Suncorp’s bank.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in an announcement on Friday morning, said it was not satisfied that the deal would not substantially reduce competition.

“We are not satisfied that the acquisition is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the supply of home loans nationally, small to medium enterprise banking in Queensland, and agribusiness banking in Queensland,” ACCC deputy chairman Mick Keogh said.

“Second-tier banks such as Suncorp Bank are important competitors against the major banks, especially because barriers to new entry at scale into banking are very high. Evidence we obtained strongly indicates that the major banks consider the second-tier banks to be a competitive threat,” he said.

The deal for ANZ to acquire Suncorp’s banking arm was announced in July 2022, but the protracted regulatory delay has frustrated both sides of the $4.9 billion acquisition.

Suncorp wants to focus on becoming a pure-play insurer, a sector which is getting tougher to manage as natural disasters become larger and more frequent due to climate change.

ANZ and Suncorp won the support of the Queensland government, but the deal has come under constant criticism from regional rival Bendigo & Adelaide Bank, which argues the deal will hurt competition and the market would be better off if Suncorp’s bank became part of its operation.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data for June showed ANZ holds about 13.3 per cent of the mortgage market, while Suncorp has 2.4 per cent and Bendigo 2.8 per cent. On household deposits, ANZ had 11.7 per cent of the market, Suncorp 2.4 per cent and Bendigo 3 per cent as of June 30.

Flint