St George Bank shareholders approve Westpac bid

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Shareholders in St. George Bank SGB.AX, Australia's fifth largest bank, approved on Thursday an around $9 billion takeover by rival Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), in Australia's biggest ever banking takeover.

Over 94 percent of proxy votes at Thursday's extraordinary shareholders' meeting were in favor of the deal. Shareholder approval had been expected.

The deal would create Australia's second-largest bank with total assets of A$500 billion ($322 billion), behind National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX) with A$564.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.

($1=1.551 Australian Dollar)

(Reporting by Mette Fraende)