NICOLE MORDANT, Johannesburg | Thursday 1.20pm.
THE country’s competition watchdog has opposed Nedcor’s hostile bid for rival Stanbic in its report to the central bank, an senior competition source said on Thursday.
”The commission has reasoned against the transaction on grounds that it could impede competition in the banking industry… One area of concern is the very high market concentration in credit cards,” the source said.
The Competition Commission was not officially available for comment.
The final decision on whether a merger to create South Africa’s and Africa’s biggest bank can proceed lies with Finance Minister Trevor Manuel. He will, however, take into account the findings of the commission and the advice of the central bank.
The source said the commission has made known its views to the Reserve Bank in a report handed to it last month.
Separately the central bank said its recommendation on Nedcor’s R30-billion bid has not yet been handed to Manuel, raising the prospect that the long-awaited ruling could still take a while.
”It’s still work in progress in the [central] bank,” registrar of banks Christo Wiese said.
The banking industry is keen for a final decision on the bid, which has been dragging on for eight months.
Wiese could not say when the report will reach Manuel. He previously said that the central bank hoped to give its views to the finance minister in the second week of May.
While uncertainty and speculation on the marriage reigns, both lenders’ share prices have been artificially tied to each other since Nedcor announced in November it will pay one of its stock for 5,5 Stanbic shares. — Reuters