By Australia’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), has announced that it will postpone its decision on ANZ Group’s proposed acquisition of Suncorp Group’s banking unit by one week. The review period, originally scheduled to end on July 28, has been extended to August 4 to allow for the consideration of a supplementary independent report on the potential deal and a second submission from Bendigo & Adelaide Bank.
According to the ACCC, it typically has 90 days from the date of application to make a decision but can extend this timeframe with the agreement of the applicants. ANZ, in this case, has agreed to a short extension to the review period. The bank had announced in July 2022 that it would acquire Suncorp’s bank for approximately AUD 4.9 billion (USD 3.30 billion), a move aimed at accelerating the growth of its retail and commercial businesses.
However, concerns have been raised within the industry regarding the potential impact of the merger on competition in the Australian banking sector. Both ANZ and Suncorp Bank offer retail and business banking products and services in Australia, including home loans, deposit products, and business banking.
Comments