Suncorp hopeful of level playing field November 26, 2014 - 3:00PM The head of Suncorp says there's a real chance the federal government's financial sector inquiry will make it easier for smaller banks to compete with the big four. Treasurer Joe Hockey is expected to receive the final report from the inquiry, headed by former Commonwealth Bank boss David Murray, by the end of the week. Speaking at a business lunch in Brisbane, Suncorp chief executive Patrick Snowball repeated his calls for a fairer playing field in the mortgage market. "The inquiry has fuelled a robust level of discussion and debate about capital and what levels should reasonably be expected to improve system stability," he said. It seems a very real possibility that one outcome of the inquiry will be that Australia's largest banks will need to increase their capital buffers. The major banks are crying foul. He said the big four were clearly threatened by the possibility of losing their competitive advantage. Mr Snowball argued the levels of capital funding and regulatory burden between major and non-major banks were disproportionate, because major banks were allowed to hold up to a third less capital than the regional banks over mortgage portfolios with the same risk profile. Increasing that capital requirement for the major banks would narrow the gap, he said.