Consumer advocacy group Choice has expressed concern over the state of competition in the Australian mortgage market following Federal approval of the CBA/Bankwest merger.
Media spokesperson for the company, Christopher Zinn, said Bankwest was just "one of the scalps in the global financial crisis".
"It's a disappointing decision for us because BankWest was such a vigorous and effective competitor and the ACCC in their decision at least acknowledged this, but this is really just a rubber stamp from the Treasurer," he said.
"We're still concerned about competition and the lack of competition."
He went on to say that the ease with which the two most recent mergers (Westpac/St.George and CBA/Bankwest) went through had raised expectations on banks "that they can nibble away more at those mid-tier banks".
"With every one of those mergers that goes through does raise the bar and there must be a limit," he added.
Choice launched a full scale campaign against the CBA/Bankwest acquisition in November.
CBA CEO Ralph Norris and representatives from Bankwest have reassured consumers that the brands will be kept separate.
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