ACCC ruling on ANZ’s $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp bank delayed by a week

ANZ’s $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp bank hangs in the balance as the competition regulator secures a one-week delay on its ruling.

ANZ made a friednly move on Suncorp’s banking arm more than a year ago. Picture: Richard Gosling

The Australian competition regulator has delayed its decision on whether to approve ANZ’s $4.9bn takeover of Suncorp bank by another week, blaming lengthy and last minute submissions on the planned deal.

The deadline has now been pushed to Friday, August 4, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said.

Although this is only half the extra 14-days time the regulator had asked for in a letter sent to the Melbourne-based bank last Thursday.

As reported by The Australian on Sunday, the ACCC had approached the Melbourne-based bank to extend the timing of its decision on the buyout.

This marks the second extension secured by the regulator as it weighs up whether to give the green light to the big four bank’s move on the regional lender. Initially it had planned to have a decision in place by mid-June.

ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott is hoping to epxand his retail banking base. Photograph: Arsineh Houspian.

The latest extension came about as the ACCC claims ANZ missed a deadline to provide a response to an expert report by British competition expert Mary Starks.

The Starks report had concluded the acquisition of Suncorp Bank by ANZ had a real chance of resulting in lessening competition in the home loan, agribusiness and SME lending markets. It further concluded that a merger with Bendigo & Adelaide Bank instead “will likely pose a stronger competitive constraint on the major banks”.

In the letter to the regulator dated last Friday, ANZ lawyers told the regulator that: “Having regard to ... the fact that the primary reason given for seeking a 14-day extension is that ANZ’s response to the Starks reports and the second submission of the Bendigo & Adelaide Bank was submitted three days after the date specified by the ACCC, ANZ is prepared to consent to an extension of seven days to 4 August 2023.”

In the ACCC’s request for the second extension to the merger review period, the regulator puts the blame on the ANZ’s lengthy submissions.

“Specifically, the ACCC requested a response to Ms Starks’ initial report by 30 June 2023, and to her Supplementary Report by 5pm 14 July 2023,” the ACCC wrote to ANZ’s lawyers last week.

“These dates were set working backwards from the decision date, to ensure your client was provided an opportunity to respond to the report and to ensure that the ACCC would have sufficient time to take these submissions into account.”

“We asked for any response to be limited to no more than 50 pages, noting that if material provided was in excess of 50 pages, it may impact the ACCC’s ability to fully consider and take this material into account by the current decision date.

“ANZ chose not to provide a response on 30 June 2023. ANZ provided its submission in response to the Supplementary Report after 11:00pm on Monday 18 July 2023 – more than three days after the date requested by the ACCC, and provided material well in excess of 50 pages,” it said.

“The ACCC has concerns about the limited time your client has given the ACCC to review and evaluate the substantial new material provided by ANZ before the 28 July 2023 statutory deadline. It is important that the ACCC has the opportunity to meaningfully consider the new information provided by ANZ and take it into account in its decision making.”

On its statement of preliminary views on the deal, published in April, the ACCC raised concerns the deal could lessen competition in agribusiness banking and lending in regional areas.

In its response, ANZ argued the regulator assumptions were wrong, saying “evidence” it submitted “clearly demonstrates that the proposed acquisition will not substantially lessen competition and is in the public interest”.

Bendigo Bank’s submissionsmaintain that a merger with Suncorp is a commercially realistic proposition. It says an ANZ deal would result in a substantial lessening of competition without any net public benefits, as compared to the Bendigo/Suncorp Bank deal or the status quo.

In April ACCC deputy chairman Mick Keogh signalled the regulator was “not convinced” about the benefits claimed by ANZ for its buyout of Suncorp.

In a statement to the exchange, Suncorp said it continued to support the merger.

“Suncorp ... maintains the view that the sale is in the best interests of its customers, shareholders and employees and will deliver public benefits for Queensland and the broader Australian public,” the statement said.

Shares in Suncorp closed slightly lower on Monday at $13.96, while ANZ stocks fell 0.16 per cent to $25.12, in line with the broader market that closed down 0.13 per cent.