The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is proposing conditional approval for a five-year collaboration between the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute (ASFI) and industry participants to support sustainable finance initiatives, according to a Tuesday statement by the regulator.

ASFI seeks authorization to enable its members to exchange information and co-design investment structures, the ACCC said.

Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG), QBE Insurance Group (ASX:QBE), ANZ Group Holdings (ASX:ANZ, NZE:ANZ) Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC), National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (ASX:BEN), and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) are members of the institute.

The collaboration aims to boost private capital flow into sustainable investments, the statement added.

While the initiative could drive environmental benefits, it may reduce competition in sustainable finance, the regulator said.

To mitigate this, the ACCC has proposed conditions on information sharing to ensure that the public benefits outweigh any potential harms, the regulator added.

Submissions on the draft determination are due by May 2, before a final decision is made.

Shares of CBA fell 1%, while ANZ slipped nearly 1% in Australia and over 1% in New Zealand. Meanwhile, WBC shares rose nearly 1% in New Zealand in Tuesday's trade.