(31 July 2024 – Australia) Queensland legislation amending the Metway Merger Act commenced on Wednesday, enabling ANZ to take control of Suncorp’s bank, completing the $4.9 billion transaction that has been two years in the making.
“This strategically important acquisition boosts our presence in Queensland, adds scale to our retail and commercial businesses, and means we can compete more effectively across the Australian market,” Mr Elliott said in an ASX release.
It marks the beginning of the delicate process of shifting 1.2 million Suncorp customers onto ANZs own technology systems, and eventually, its big digital bet ANZ Plus.
ANZ said in 2022 it had been conservative setting the synergy timeline, waiting for ANZ Plus to be up and running before bringing Suncorp customers across.
Mr Elliott has previously reassured the market ANZ will not repeat the mistakes of Westpac’s bungled efforts to bring in St George, describing Suncorp as an IT “migration” rather than an integration.