Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares closed up 0.17% in trade on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed 0.49% lower today.
That's today's price action for you.
Now, will ANZ shares eventually include Suncorp Group Ltd's (ASX: SUN) banking segment?
What's happening with the Suncorp banking acquisition?
ANZ first announced its intention to acquire Suncorp Bank on 18 July. ANZ shares rallied in the days that followed.
But before the deal can go through it needs to be approved by a number of regulatory agencies, including the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and treasurer Jim Chalmers.
First on that list, however, is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
ANZ delivered its merger authorisation application to the ACCC on 2 December.
The ACCC stated:
The test for merger authorisation is that the ACCC must be satisfied that either the transaction will not be likely to substantially lessen competition, or that the public benefits outweigh the public detriments
However, the initial applications may not have been sufficient to convince the regulator that the deal is in the companies' and the public's best interests.
As The Australian Financial Review reports, ANZ and Suncorp are redoubling their efforts for ACCC approval. They say that the higher funding costs faced by regional banks skew the field in favour of the bigger institutions.
Citing bank sources, who reported that the last round of submissions were lodged with the ACCC yesterday, the AFR said that banks hope to convince the regulator of the stiff competition in a sector dominated by the big four banks.
ANZ believes that the ACCC relied on out-of-date information when assessing the level of competition. And that the regulator didn't properly take into account the ongoing banking crisis in the United States.
Suncorp was said to be pushing for the sale of its banking segment so it could fully focus on its insurance business.
Earlier in May, ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said (quoted by the AFR):
I would expect that ACCC, if a big bank wants to buy a small bank, there would obviously be a whole range of things they should be concerned about. We are very firmly of the view that a lot of submissions were based on material that was very dated. We are confident we will be a more effective competitor."
One way or another, investors should know whether ANZ shares will encompass the Suncorp banking segment in July when the ACCC is expected to report its decision.
How have ANZ shares been tracking?
Although ANZ shares are down 7.19% over the past 12 months, that's still the best performance among the big four Aussie banks.
Year to date the ANZ share price is the only one of the big four in the green, up 2.48%.
