Bank works on submissions

KINA Bank says it is currently working through the formal submissions with regulators for the proposed acquisition of 89.91 per cent of Westpac PNG.
Last week, the Independent Competition Consumer Commission (ICCC) announced that it had begun the authorisation process for the acquisition upon receiving the application from Kina Securities Ltd.
A public consultation process is now underway for submissions from relevant stakeholders and the public.
That is part of the process of the competition watchdog to assess the competition effects and public benefits of the acquisition.
Kina Bank chief executive officer and managing director Greg Pawson told The National yesterday that the proposed acquisition of Westpac’s business would promote a stronger publicly listed regional bank.
“It shows our commitment to customers in PNG and it would also reaffirm PNG’s position as the largest economy in the Pacific,” he said.
“As the only financial services organisation in PNG with the capital and experience to complete this acquisition successfully, we believe there is a great story here.
“The additional scale, customers and footprint would give us the ability to take banking back to basics with better customer service and a focus on lowering the cost of banking.
“It will be a great outcome for customers from a product and service perspective. We will be better positioned to drive innovation and introduce more choice.
“We will be able to introduce further fee free banking options; a new suite of world-class digital products and services; and, we will be able to re-price business lending, making it more cost-effective for business customers to access funding.
“We will also be able to make significant investment in the branch network, technology and systems.”
Pawson said the intention was to retain the Westpac commercial banking licence and create an exciting new brand to compete vigorously with Kina Bank, BSP and ANZ with a specific focus on financial inclusion, micro small to medium enterprises (MSMEs), SMEs and the commercial segments of both PNG and Fiji.
“This multi-brand approach will improve competition, improve customer choice, and lower the cost of banking for everyone,” he said.
“A multi-brand strategy means there would be no branch closures, no reduction in the in-store network and no job losses.
“In fact, we will have greater capability to expand the branch and in-store network even further, providing more access for harder to reach communities. It also means there will be no disruption to customers.”