Commission receives clearance application from Westpac
Published18 Aug 2003
Issued 18 August 2003
The Commerce Commission has received an application from Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) to acquire, through Westpac Holdings-NZ-Limited, 100% of the shares in NBNZ Holdings Limited, the New Zealand holding company of The National Bank of New Zealand Limited and its controlled subsidiaries (National) from Lloyds TSB Bank plc.
Westpac is an Australian incorporated company. It operates in New Zealand as a registered bank under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. Westpac has interests in Electronic Transaction Services Limited (ETSL), Visa New Zealand Limited (VNZL) and Interchange & Settlement Limited (ISL) and Mondex New Zealand Limited (MNZL).
National is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds TSB Bank plc. National also holds interests in ETSL, VNZL, ISL and MNZL.
Both Westpac and National provide financial products and services in New Zealand. Their key business areas are personal banking, consumer finance, business banking, corporate banking and institutional banking.
In considering the application, the Commission's role is to determine whether the merger has the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market. This is the second application the Commission has received for a clearance to acquire National Bank. The first application was received from ANZ Banking Group (New Zealand) Limited on 14 August. The Commission will consider these applications concurrently.
A public version of Westpac's application will shortly be available on the Commission's website under Adjudication.
