If the takeover by Westpac of St George goes ahead, the new entity will be Australia’s largest bank with over 37,000 staff, more than 1,200 branches, a 25 per cent share of the home loan market and $108 billion in funds under management. However the deal will need to gain the approval of the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission as well as the federal Treasurer. ACCC chairman Graeme Samuels said yesterday that the proposal will be subjected to rigorous analysis to see if there would be “substantial lessening of competition in any market”. Treasurer Wayne Swan was preoccupied with budget preparations yesterday and simply said that any proposal that comes from the takeover discussion would be examined in detail.