Queensland treasurer Cameron Dick
It is now eight weeks since ANZ and Suncorp Group announced plans for a A$4.9 billion all-cash acquisition by ANZ of Suncorp Bank, and both have been supremely guarded since then, making no further comments on the no doubt delicate preparation of their case for this merger and to fulfil demands of federal and – critically – state regulators.
It also now around five weeks since ANZ advised Banking Day that the formal application for a merger authorisation for the ACCC was “a few weeks away” – and as of late Friday this still hadn’t materialised. The ACCC’s mergers register lists the status as “monitoring”.
Most interesting is the seeming absence of any meaningful, ongoing public debate or discussion within Queensland, given the political and financial sensitivities of unpicking the State Financial Institutions and Metway Merger Act 1996.
This law directs that Suncorp Group (and thus Suncorp Bank, formerly Metway Bank) maintain its head office, and a slew of functions and key positions in Queensland.
ANZ’s board held a meeting last week (in New Zealand), so perhaps the bank will soon be in a position to iron out wrinkles in its negotiations with the Queensland treasurer, Cameron Dick, and finalise the merger application for the ACCC and the market.