ACCC signs off on CBA stake in Aussie The competition regulator has given the green light to the Commonwealth Bank's plan to buy up the remainder of John Symond's Aussie Home Loans, saying the deal will not hurt competition in the mortgage market. In the 1990s Aussie promoted itself as a mortgage broker that was fiercely independent of the big four lenders. Now, however, it is set to be majority owned by Australia's largest bank. CBA already owns 33 per cent of Aussie, and on Thursday the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today said it would not oppose CBA's plan to increase its stake to 80 per cent, with the option to acquire the remaining 20 per cent by 2018. It said the deal would probably result in the CommBank increasing the number of ""white label" loan products sold through Aussie brokers, including ""Aussie"" branded loans that were financed by the Commonwealth Bank. However, the Commission said this would not result in a substantial lessening in competition. There were many other channels for lenders to reach borrowers, it said, and Aussie had a market share of about 6 per cent. "In reaching its view, the ACCC took into account the competitive constraint arising from the presence of a number of alternative suppliers of home loan products and mortgage distribution services," chairman Rod Sims said in a statement. Aussie, which has around 750 mortgage brokers around the country, plans to continue offering home loans from a range of lenders. Mr Symond has argued the purchase will allow the business to grow and be a bigger competitive force. Despite this, the consumer group Choice and some smaller lenders had voiced concerns about the deal, saying it threatened to reduce competition. The Commonwealth Bank's plan to buy the extra 47 per cent in Aussie is thought to be worth about $150 million to Mr Symond, who will remain executive chairman of Aussie. Commonwealth Bank also holds a 17 per cent share in the listed mortgage broker Mortgage Choice, which claims the ownership stake has had no impact on the service it offers customers.