Abstract:
This paper examines the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission's (ACCC)
approach to market definition in light of bank
mergers within the country of Australia. It Considers
whether or nor the ACCC's approach is
consistent with the actual bank selection criteria
of a nationwide sample of 2,500 business firms.
Empirical evidence reveals that a regulatory
approach of defining bank markets based on distinct
products may only be serving the interest
of large business firms. The interest of small
business firms may be better served under the
more traditional approach of defining bank markets
based all product clusters.
