In December 2009 NAB began a 9-month attempt to purchase Axa Asia Pacific. This attempt was blocked twice by the ACCC. The first time, in April 2010, was because the regulator believed that the merger would cause a substantial lessening of competition in the retail investment platform market. NAB subsequently lodged a revised bid which aimed to address these concerns however, was rejected a second time in September of that year. The Axa deal's drawn out process drew criticism for the bank's underperformance.