©Reuters. A pedestrian is reflected in the window of an Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) branch in central Sydney, Australia, October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore/File Photo
By Scott Murdoch and Renju Jose
SYDNEY (Reuters) – ANZ Group’s A$4.9 billion ($3.2 billion) acquisition of Suncorp’s banking business was cleared by the Australian Competition Tribunal on Tuesday, meaning the bank can proceed with the acquisition of its major rival.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in August blocked the deal, which it said would worsen competition in Australia’s banking sector.
But Australian Competition Tribunal vice-president Justice John Halley told the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday there were sufficient “net public benefits” to allow the deal to go ahead.
“This is a significant milestone and an important step forward in the process, however we still have further conditions to meet,” ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said in a statement. “We remain committed to completing the acquisition as soon as possible once all conditions of sale are satisfied.”
The acquisition still requires approval from Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Official approval from the Queensland government, where Suncorp is based, is also required.
ANZ, which is Australia’s fourth-largest lender by market capitalisation, had appealed the ACCC’s August ruling alongside Suncorp.
The ACCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last year the ACCC said allowing the deal to proceed would “further entrench an oligopolistic market structure” in which four lenders, including ANZ, hold three-quarters of the country’s A$2 trillion in mortgages for the House.
ANZ said when it first announced the transaction with Suncorp in 2022 that buying the banking assets would boost its mortgage book from A$47 billion to A$307 billion.
Suncorp, one of Australia’s largest general insurers, wanted to streamline its business to focus on insurance and reduce the capital requirements of owning a bank.