There’s plenty of speculation on how a merged Promina and Suncorp might look. One big question is who would lead the new insurance-heavy entity.

Major shareholders are expected to push for Promina CEO Mike Wilkins to take the top job, but that’s hardly likely to be a condition that Suncorp CEO John Mulcahy will support.

Mr Wilkins has been in charge of Promina since 1999, whereas Mr Mulcahy has a strong background in banking but only joined Suncorp in 2003. Mr Wilkins also has an impeccable record in building the various Promina brands over the past four years into a financial services powerhouse.  

Suncorp says it won’t be making any official comment on leadership speculation. “Our sole focus at the moment is on progressing negotiations with Promina with a view to finalising the terms of our merger implementation plan as quickly as possible,” a spokesman said.

“As soon as we are in a position to update the market we will do so through a market announcement.”