Report on Bank Mergers

17 September 2009

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009
ISBN 978-1-74229-148-2

View the report as a single document - (PDF 1005KB)

---

View the report as separate downloadable parts:

Membership of Committee	(PDF 10KB)
Chapter 1 - Introduction	(PDF 10KB)
Referral of the Inquiry Conduct of the inquiry Outline of the report
Chapter 2 - Background - the Australian banking market	(PDF 104KB)
A history of strong banks in Australia Concentration in the Australian banking market
Chapter 3 - The economics of bank mergers	(PDF 97KB)
Economies of scale in banking Economies of scope Concentration, contestability and interest margins
Chapter 4 - Recent Australian bank mergers	(PDF 156KB)
The Westpac takeover of St George Bank The Commonwealth Bank takeover of BankWest Branding strategies Possible further mergers Impact on consumer choice Impact of mergers on system stability Impact on interest margins The global financial crisis and bank mergers
Chapter 5 - Regulation of Australian bank mergers	(PDF 173KB)
ACCC approval of mergers The 'four pillars' policy Approval by the Treasurer for other bank takeovers The role of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
Chapter 6 - Employment and 'offshoring'	(PDF 86KB)
Employment in banking Employment impact of mergers 'Offshoring' of jobs by banks The extent of offshoring The impact of offshoring Policy responses to offshoring
Labor Senators' Dissenting Report	(PDF 87KB)
Competition in the Banking Sector Member owned financial institutions Increased transparency of the ACCC ACCC, APRA and the Reserve Bank – Joint Annual Report Monitoring and enforcing conditions Employment and offshoring
Minority Report by Senator Xenophon	(PDF 98KB)
Introduction Background The economic, social and employment impacts of the recent mergers The measures available to enforce conditions on future bank mergers The capacity for the ACCC to enforce divestiture in the banking sector Consumer choice and competition Off-shoring Conclusion
Bibliography	(PDF 53KB)
Appendix 1 - Submissions Received	(PDF 9KB)
Appendix 2 - Public Hearings and Witnesses	(PDF 10KB)
Canberra, Thursday 12 March 2009 Canberra, Friday 13 March 2009 Brisbane, Wednesday 1 July 2009 Perth, Thursday 2 July 2009 Canberra, Monday 10 August 2009

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone:	+61 2 6277 3540
Fax:	+61 2 6277 5719
Email:	economics.sen@aph.gov.au