Max Bonici and Connor Webb published, “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s Tougher Policy on Mergers: Why It Matters for Banks and Fintechs” in the September issue of The Banking Law Journal. The following is an excerpt:
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed revisions1 to its existing policy on how it evaluates merger transactions that require the FDIC’s approval under the Bank Merger Act (BMA). The proposed policy outlines how the FDIC would evaluate these transactions under the BMA’s statutory factors relating to competition, financial resources, the convenience and needs of communities, financial stability, and money laundering, as well as other considerations that reflect FDIC policies and goals.
Earlier this year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a similar proposal to revise its own policy. These developments come as the federal banking agencies have been reviewing their policies on mergers since President Biden’s 2021 executive order on competition.