David Foster, chair, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank
Macquarie Bank, HSBC and ING “are in a position to defeat coordination” by major banks, Ruth Higgins, barrister for ANZ told the Australian Competition Tribunal yesterday.
The tribunal is hearing ANZ's appeal against the ACCC’s opposition to its proposed takeover of Suncorp Bank.
“We say the ACCC submissions fail to grapple with the fact that barriers to entry are low,” Higgins said.
Macquarie has “cherry picked the market. Macquarie has successfully defeated the fact of coordination.”
Mortgage brokers, moreover, have altered market dynamics.
“Brokers have created a reverse asymmetry, towards the customer and away from the banks,” she said.
When Cameron Moore, barrister for Suncorp stepped up to deliver closing remarks he dropped a whopper.
It seems in 2016 Bendigo and Adelaide Bank approached Suncorp over an acquisition of Suncorp Bank.
“In 2016, no transaction has occurred then, and no transaction has occurred since,” Moore said.