bankmecu (the former Members and Education Credit Union) said yesterday that it had written to the Federal Treasurer and to regulators arguing for greater disclosure of the ownership of bank sub-brands.bankmecu's managing director, Damien Walsh, said, in a statement, that there was "growing concern that the major banks are creating a veneer of competition through their various sub-brands." He listed CBA's Bankwest, NAB's UBank and Westpac's St George, Bank of Melbourne, RAMS and BankSA. Walsh argues in his letter that consumers might overestimate the protection they will get if they have deposits adding up to more than $250,000 spread across various bank sub-brands. The Financial Claims Scheme would treat all of these deposits as belonging to one institution and deny these consumers protection beyond the $250,000 limit, he said."We have also asked the Treasurer to require banks to prominently disclose ownership of their wholly owned subsidiary sub-brands in all advertising," Walsh said.Walsh said, in his statement, that the letter had been "endorsed by several CEOs of Australia's largest mutuals".The letter was sent to the chairs of APRA, ASIC and the ACCC, as well as to the Treasurer, Walsh said.