NAB dampens Suncorp bid rumour

NAB pointed out in response that most of the 88 million shares were held by its fund management arm, MLC, and almost all the remainder by National Nominees on behalf of unnamed clients and customers of its nominee account service business.

Suncorp's shares jumped 29?, or 3.6 per cent, to $8.24 after the substantial shareholder notice was lodged by various NAB companies and associates.

The notice was lodged, said NAB, in response to recently introduced market requirements for more transparency in large shareholdings.

This has affected major fund managers, in particular those owned by three of the big four banks NAB's MLC, Westpac's BT Financial Group and Commonwealth's Colonial First State.

Nevertheless, the disclosure was enough to interest some market watchers given that Suncorp has been tipped as a takeover target since the recent consolidation in the banking sector involving St George and BankWest.

Suncorp's banking arm has been weakened by the soaring cost of funding and was almost sold to ANZ last September at the height of the global financial crisis.