Westpac pulls out of running for National Bank of New Zealand

10.50am

Australian bank Westpac said today it is no longer interested in buying the National Bank of New Zealand.

Westpac was one of the leading contenders for the National Bank and had, along with the ANZ, asked for Commerce Commission approval to buy it from owner United Kingdom-based Lloyds TSB.

The asking price was understood to be about $7 billion.

Westpac said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange today that it believed owning the National Bank would divert from its core growth activity.



New Zealand's biggest bank by assets, the National Bank is up for sale after Lloyds TSB said it was reviewing ownership of its long-held wing, making it potentially Asia's biggest takeover this year.

Bank of New Zealand owner the National Bank of Australia was understood to be interested, and a consortium led by Waikato businessman Phil Verry has also said it is seeking finances to buy the bank.

The prospect of an Australian bank owning the popular National Bank has raised criticism that customers would suffer.

Westpac runs as a branch of its parent company, although the Reserve Bank has been talking to it for several months in a bid to have it change its branch status.

Other Australian-owned banks operate as subsidiaries.

- NZPA