Banking News

ANZ Acquisition of Suncorp Bank Approved by Federal Treasurer

(28 June 2024 – Australia) Suncorp Group has welcomed the Australian Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers approval of ANZ’s proposed acquisition of Suncorp Bank under the Financial Sector Act.

The official approval paves the way for completion of the A$4.9 billion transaction, which was first announced in July 2022 and overcome several regulatory hurdles following approval from the Australian Competition Tribunal in February 2024 and the passing of legislation by the Queensland government in June 2024 to amend the Metway Merger Act. Suncorp and ANZ are targeting a completion date of 31 July 2024.

ANZ will add A$70 billion in loans to its portfolio and commence a massive customer retention program as numerous questions are raised about the deal’s benefits and how well it can be executed. ANZ will surpass NAB to become the third-biggest player in residential mortgages, adding 1.2 million Suncorp customers to its books alongside 2500 employees. The deal is the largest banking sector transaction since the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC) when Westpac acquired St George and CBA took over Bankwest.

Several stipulations were attached to the deal’s approval by the federal government, including that ANZ would maintain its and Suncorp Bank’s regional branch numbers throughout Australia coupled with no net job losses in Australia as a direct result of the acquisition for three years. The Treasurer’s conditions also included that ANZ would continue “its ongoing best efforts” to reach an agreement with Australia Post, on a commercial basis, to offer Bank@Post services to its customers.

“We are not naïve, we understand it (integration) is really difficult. ANZ is the product of years and years and years of integrations and acquisitions. The Suncorp Bank deal will make us a more effective competitor. The migration of Suncorp’s banking customers onto ANZ systems will take place over time rather limiting risks around the transaction. We are not integrating any Suncorp Bank systems. Not one” ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott commented.

“We acknowledge large acquisitions are risky, but the bank has a track record in dealmaking. For some Suncorp customers the migration will occur in two to three years given they are moving to ANZ’s new Plus digital banking platform, which is still being developed.”