Suncorp promised a leaner, meaner and all-round more competitive general insurer if it sold its bank to ANZ. Almost one year after the bank sale was completed, and from the outside looking in, not much has changed.

We’re told we should start seeing the differences in the coming months. The $23 billion Suncorp has just been through its first three-year planning round as a pure-play insurer and, without needing to make any trade-offs between investing in its insurance operations or a bank, every dollar should go only into making Suncorp a better insurance company.