Happy Sunday!

Hello from New York! Hoping you will the best Christmas break. Thanks for subscribing and reading for the past 11 weeks. From now till the New Year the newsletter will be taking a break, but if something big breaks in that time I will make sure to let you all know!

If you are interested in reading past issues, you can catch up here →

The low down ⏱️

In Australia 🇦🇺

Slow week in Australia - Bendigo Bank makes a bid for Suncorp Bank and Zip partners with Google to offer an integrated BNPL in Google Pay

Globally 🌍

Apple looking to allow EU banks into their NFC platform for payments, Klarna partners with CarTrawler, launches BNPL to Airbnb in the UK and SumUp raises €285 million in new funding

This week in Australia 🇦🇺

Bendigo Bank makes a big for Suncorp’s banking business

Bendigo Bank has said it could make a compelling bid to acquire Suncorp Bank. This comes as the Australian Competition Tribunal reviews the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's decision to block ANZ Bank's proposed A$4.9 billion acquisition of Suncorp Bank.

The ACCC argued the ANZ deal would reduce competition in home loans. Bendigo claims in a submission to the tribunal that it has the capacity to offer Suncorp shareholders a deal that is value-accretive. It says a merged Bendigo-Suncorp Bank would be a stronger competitor to the major Australian banks. However, both Suncorp and ANZ have since argued against the prospect of a Bendigo deal, as the tribunal hearings begin to determine whether the ANZ acquisition should be allowed to proceed. A decision is expected in February.

Learn more →