AMP vows establishment of fifth pillar

The AMP chief executive Craig Dunn has sought to defend his company’s takeover bid for AXA Asia Pacific as providing a counter to the dominance of the big banks in the wealth management space.

In an address to the Trans Tasman Business Circle in Melbourne, Dunn pointed out that ten years ago only two commercial banks were among the top 10 fund managers in the country — but that since then many of the large independent fund managers had been absorbed by the big four banks.

“Today, largely through acquisition, our big four banks control almost half of the wealth management market between them,” he said.

Dunn said that while he greatly respected Australia’s major banks, he also had no doubt that Australians would benefit from having an even stronger, home-grown non-bank competitor in the wealth management market.

“If successful, our merger with AXA’s Australian and New Zealand operations would provide a new way forward,” he said.

Dunn said the merger would build a fifth pillar in the financial services sectors — not just in policy terms, but in competitive terms.