ANZ deal for Suncorp Bank must proceed

Queensland and thousands of ‘mum and dad’ investors are set to be the losers if Australia’s competition watchdog knocks back ANZ’s $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp Bank.

Queensland is set to be the loser if Australia’s competition watchdog knocks back ANZ’s $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp Bank. Suncorp Group may be a homegrown hero - after all its name is all over our famous footy stadium in Brisbane - but its banking operations are too small to survive in an increasingly brutal financial marketplace.

The ACCC says it’s not convinced of the merits of the takeover but seemingly ignores the immense benefits the deal will bring to Queensland.

The deal was always a win-win for all concerned, allowing Suncorp to jettison an underperformer and concentrate on its more lucrative insurance business and ANZ to boost market share in a state where its presence has always been underweight.

ANZ is prepared to spend heavy coin getting this deal across the line, with over $4bn distributed to Suncorp shareholders, including about $1bn to more than 158,000 ‘mum and dad’ shareholders holding in excess of 340m shares.

Suncorp Group CEO Steve Johnston. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

As a sweetener, ANZ has vowed to make $10 billion of lending available to support Queensland businesses over the next few years, vital support to build employment and infrastructure as we edge closer to the 2032 Olympic Games.

Any concerns that the deal will create some sort of megabank that will reduce competition in home loans and other financial services simply does not hold water.

ANZ holds only 13.02 per cent of the home loan market in Australia and Suncorp is considerably smaller with 2.39 per cent. Even if the takeover proceeds, neither bank will be in any position to drive terms to its customers.

The suggestion that Suncorp should instead merge with a second-tier or regional bank as opposed to one of the big four lenders is impractical. While Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has put its hand up as a potential suitor, it runs a different branch model to Suncorp that would not work well together. The ACCC simply needs to stick to its knitting and not try to engineer an alternative deal that is not even on the table.

It also ignores the fact that Queensland already has a plethora of regional banking brands to choose from including Heritage, Auswide, BoQ and Great Southern Bank to name a few.

Originally published as ANZ deal for Suncorp Bank must proceed