Australian government watching bank mega merger: PM

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian leader Kevin Rudd Wednesday said he was committed to maintaining competition in the banking sector, after two banks agreed to merge to create the nation's biggest financial services group.

Prime Minister Rudd, whose centre-left Labor government has been critical of the fees charged by banks, refused to comment on the proposed merger between the country's third and fifth-largest banks.

But he said the government was committed to maintaining competition in the sector and would watch closely the mega merger which would create a bank worth around 66 billion dollars (62 billion US).

"Let's see how all that unfolds," Rudd said after St George Bank on Tuesday agreed to larger bank Westpac Banking Corp's 18.6 billion dollar merger offer....