Australia’s competition regulator has blocked a USD 3.2 billion buyout planned by ANZ Group of insurer Suncorp ’s banking arm. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it was concerned a tie-up between the financial firms would worsen competition and ‘further entrench an oligopoly market structure’ where four lenders including ANZ have three quarters of the country's USD 1.2 trillion.

The proposed acquisition increases the likelihood that the major banks adopt a 'live and let live' approach to each other instead of competing strongly on price, innovation, and the quality of their service. A substantial lessening of competition in home loans would have major flow-on impacts to Australians with a mortgage. Roadblocks in merger plan amidst growing challenges in the financial landscape The decision leaves ANZ, which has trailed behind its larger rivals in the competitive mortgage market, without a straightforward path to growing its loan book at a time when banks are struggling to attract new borrowers after 400 basis points of interest rate hikes in a year, as per Reuters.

It also leaves Suncorp, one of Australia's biggest general insurers, without an avenue for simplification as extreme weather events put pressure on its core business. The financial firms said in separate statements that they were disappointed and disagreed with the decision. The companies said they would seek a review of the determination at the Australian Competition Tribunal, an offshoot of the federal court which oversees takeover rulings.

Analysts from Citi bank said that if the transaction is abandoned, ANZ avoids a transaction that is increasingly unpopular with investors and gains a material capital surplus. Taking the deal to the competition tribunal would delay its completion to mid-2024, if the tribunal approved it, from the late 2023 timeline the companies gave when they announced it in 2022. However, another recent major ACCC-rejected deal to go to the tribunal, a telecommunications network-sharing arrangement between heavyweights Telstra and TPG Telcom, was blocked again there.

Previous actions from the ACCC In October 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has set to organise ‘Internet sweeps’ to identify companies that make false environmental and sustainability claims, also called greenwashing. The sweeps were set to start in November 2022 as part of the Australian watchdog’s compliance and enforcement priorities to discourage deceptive advertising and marketing practices that claim environmental-friendly and sustainable practices and policies. A survey by Foundations For Tomorrow revealed that young people under 30 are eager to combat climate change and support sustainable products.

However, certain businesses and platforms may engage in greenwashing, making false claims about their environmental credentials to attract more consumers. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) warned that such misleading practices erode customer trust and may set a dangerous precedent. The ACCC pledged to take enforcement actions against companies making deceptive green claims and is actively monitoring greenwashing while assisting businesses in complying with climate change and environmental regulations in Australia.

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