CANBERRA, Australia–This country’s competition regulator said it is closely monitoring any plans that involve the nation's big banks buying up smaller financial technology rivals or striking blockchain cooperation deals.
According to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims, the regulator has not yet examined any major deals involving Australia's "Big Four" banks, which control 80% of the lending market, involving the purchase of fintech startups. But he said any proposed transactions in that area would face scrutiny.
"I think we need to, as an organization, take a really close look at these things," Sims told Reuters. "This means making a forward-looking judgment. Will these things be disruptive in the future? They may be small now. What can they unlock in the future?"
Reuters reported that those Big Four – Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac, National Australia Bank, and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group – have to date faced limited competition from fintech rivals in areas like foreign exchange, transaction processing and peer-to-peer lending.
Reuters quoted Sims as saying the ACCC was also keeping an eye on developments in blockchain technology, adding that depending on the nature of the cooperation on blockchain, the big banks might have to seek ACCC permission for such projects.
Three of the Big Four - CBA, Westpac and NAB - are part of the R3 consortium of global banks working on developing a decentralized online currency, Reuters reported.