Original article by James Chessell, Sarah Thompson, Ruth Liew, Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 45 : 3-Sep-14

Jan van der Schalk of CLSA believes that there were merits to the proposed merger between Suncorp Group’s banking division and the Bank of Queensland (BoQ). Ausbil Dexia’s Paul Xiradis says any such deal would have been well received by the market, but notes that the groups’ focus on Queensland could be a concern. It has been revealed that Suncorp and BoQ abandoned preliminary merger talks earlier in 2014. Chris Hall of Argo Investments says the resignation of BoQ CEO Stuart Grimshaw means further merger talks are unlikely

CORPORATES
SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSBIL DEXIA LIMITED, ARGO INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX ARG, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, PROMINA GROUP LIMITED, EZCORP INCORPORATED, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED MOTOR INSURERS LIMITED, GIO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG