Briefs: Thailand seeks Australian bank investment, Unhappy Bankwest business borrowers and more

Thailand's commerce minister urged Australian banks to buy stakes in, or enter local partnerships with, established banks in the country if they were unable to obtain full banking licences, the Financial Review reported. ANZ is seeking support for an accelerated assessment of its own application for a banking licence in Thailand.

Bankwest CEO John Sutton will brief Senator John Williams today on response to efforts by the latter to establish a Senate inquiry into lending and foreclosure practices by the bank in relation to commercial clients over the last three years, the Financial Review reported. A number of aggrieved property developers are looking for an outlet for their disquiet at being asked by the now Commonwealth Bank subsidiary to repay loans early and being sold up. One group of disgruntled Bankwest customers is coordinating action through the website Unhappy Banking.

Girol Karacaoglu has quit as chief executive of New Zealand's The Cooperative Bank to join the Treasury as deputy secretary of macroeconomics and research. Gareth Fleming, marketing manager at the bank, will be interim CEO.