The ACCC is watching the investment activities of the country’s largest banks, while ASIC and financial complaints agency AFCA are trying to monitor the scene to determine any consumer detriment.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) earlier this month announced it was investing AU$50 million to take a share of two startups. It has taken a 23% shareholding in online shopping startup Little Birdie and a 25% stake in Amber, which provides subscription-based access to wholesale electricity prices. Westpac, meanwhile, has partnered with buy-now, pay-later player Afterpay to offer white label services. After previously stating he welcomed competition in the fintech space, just not for the sole benefit of filling the pockets of the nation’s largest banks, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chair Rod Sims has said he is closely monitoring the sector. «The Commonwealth Bank is — it’s got probably 25% of the home loan market, it’s obviously the biggest bank — but in terms of what they’re doing, there’s a lot of other players in the market,» Sims told Senate Estimates on Wednesday night. «So certainly happy to keep an eye on it, but I think with all else going on in the market, it would be a bit early to call that market power. It’s an interesting development, they’re trying to match a range of other digital players [like] fintechs offering various services.» He said the ACCC almost sees it as an encouraging sign to improve the mix of economic activity. «But I accept they’re a big player and when big players do things like that, we have to monitor carefully,» he added. «The four of them have got enormous power. If they get behind something, that’s fine, they all do the same thing.» On Westpac, Sims said it was similarly «fairly early days». «It’s part of all the rich developments that are going on, that we’re monitoring very closely. And there are a number of white label services provided by various banks. Citibank, for example, provides white label credit card facilities,» ACCC executive general manager of specialised enforcement and advocacy Marcus Bezzi added.
