In a detailed submission to the Senate Economics Committee, Bank of Queensland chief executive Jon Sutton indicated that competitive advantages enjoyed by the major banks would not be tackled properly until disparities in regulatory capital rules were addressed. Sutton told the committee that standardised banks such as BoQ currently had to stump up around A$3.50 in Tier 1 capital for every $100 lent to housing borrowers, while the major banks were only required by the prudential regulator to put aside $2. Narrowing this differential would be a more effective way to improve competition than imposing a levy on the major banks, Sutton said. "BOQ draws the Committee's attention to this anomaly and suggests that an increase to the risk weighting of advanced banks would be more effective than the levy at levelling the playing field between the banks and supporting the objective of an unquestionably strong banking system," he told the committee in the bank's submission. While all of the regional banks - Bank of Queensland, ING Bank, ME Bank, Bendigo and Adelaide, and Suncorp - said they supported the government's rationale for introducing the levy, several said they were concerned by the lack of consultation with the industry leading up to the announcement in the May budget papers. "BOQ notes the extensive criticism from the major banks over the lack of meaningful consultation on the levy," Sutton told the committee. "BOQ would be concerned if this practice was repeated by Treasury in relation to other banking reform measures." ING Bank executive David Breen told the committee that the levy would "promote competition in what is acknowledged as a highly concentrated banking market".