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Banking’s big 4 set to become the big 5
The tying up of regional institutions could see the big four of the Australian banking scene become the “big five” within the next 10 years, a law firm has predicted.
Banking’s big 4 set to become the big 5
The tying up of regional institutions could see the big four of the Australian banking scene become the “big five” within the next 10 years, a law firm has predicted.
A new report from multinational law firm MinterEllison that looked at the mergers and acquisition outlook for Australia’s financial services “towards 2030” has envisaged a number of changes to occur in the short term, most notably the idea that a fifth major bank will emerge.
A merger of regional banks servicing different geographic areas would provide greater scale and geographical scope, it said.
The additional acquisitions of smaller banks or mutual or credit unions would then address additional servicing gaps.
The report conceded such a process as being similar to what Australia’s current big four have undertaken “over at least the past 35 years”.
The report also noted that the next 10 years will likely see foreign banks looking to increase their presence in Australia despite the domestic sector continuing to experience significant problems and devaluation.
In particular, it identified Japanese and Chinese institutions among others having a “significant savings surplus and limited domestic or existing long-term growth opportunities” as potentially identifying Australia as an attractive market.
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