ANZ Bank’s $4.9 billion takeover of Suncorp’s banking arm is expected to receive the green light from Treasurer Jim Chalmers, subject to conditions requiring the merged bank to protect jobs and retain a regional presence.
After ANZ successfully overturned the competition watchdog’s opposition to the takeover through a court challenge earlier this year, it is expected that Chalmers will on Friday tick off on the transaction, which is the biggest banking deal in Australia since Westpac bought St George in 2008.
After the corporate watchdog last month said mortgage lenders were making it too hard for borrowers who could not meet their repayments to access help, Elliott said the number of people seeking hardship assistance had been rising, and the trend was likely to continue. Speaking at the same briefing, ANZ’s customer fairness adviser, Evelyn Halls, said the bank had put in place an “action plan” to improve the outcomes and experience for customers needing support. The plan focused on areas including better communication, improving training and policies, and specialist support for vulnerable customers.
It reported that the proportion of loans within these securities that were at least 30 days behind in repayments climbed to 1.3 per cent in the March quarter. The proportion in the early stage of arrears, which is between 30 and 59 days in arrears, lifted to its highest level since February 2016.
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