The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency will hold a joint public meeting to collect stakeholder feedback on a
proposed merger between Capital One Financial Corp. and Discover Financial
Services. The agencies also announced a second extension to the public comment
period for the proposal through July 24.
The agreement in which Capital One would acquire Discover
was met with pushback from numerous organizations and lawmakers concerning the possible implications of the two entities combining to form the largest
credit card company in the nation.
Critics of the proposal have said the “mega-merger”
would be bad for competition in the credit card marketplace. However, others
contend just the opposite, asserting it would put Capital One and Discover in
better positions to compete with Visa and Mastercard.
The federal banking agencies said in a press release the
public meeting is intended to help to get a wide range of stakeholder
perspectives as the agencies evaluate the applications. The agencies are legally
required to evaluate:
·
The convenience and needs of the communities to
be served by the combined organization;
·
Each insured depository institution’s performance
under the Community Reinvestment Act;
·
Competition in the relevant markets;
·
The effects of the proposal on the stability of
the U.S. banking or financial system;
·
The financial and managerial resources and
future prospects of the companies and banks involved in the proposal; and
·
The effectiveness of the companies and banks in
combatting money laundering activities.
The meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on July 19 at
9 a.m. EDT. Members of the public seeking to present oral comments must
register by noon EDT on June 28, through the online registration webpage, which
will be posted on the Fed’s Capital
One-Discover Application Reading Room by May 28.