AMID false speculation the ACCC will soon issue its public competition assessment on the NAB deal, some explanation is required.
The regulator is getting a little tired of the importance being placed on these notices, which are intended as a guide as to why a decision was taken rather than being the definitive account.
The ACCC's attempts at transparency have come back to haunt it because the PCAs are now a body of work themselves, requiring staff to write the notices, then having them checked by the mergers review committee, and in some cases the full commission.
It so happens that neither committee nor commission are meeting this week because the top brass are at their annual conference on the Gold Coast, but in any case the chances of a PCA soon on the NAB decision any time soon are remote.
If there is any chance of legal action, the ACCC won't commit too much to writing. In any case, it normally takes seven weeks to get the reports written and the decision was taken just four weeks ago.
It is also may be a touch embarrassing; on any reading of the PCA on the Westpac-St George merger the NAB-Axa deal should have been waved through. So those looking for the inconsistencies can forget about it.
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