Senators call for stronger Fed oversight over bank mergers

Federal Issues Bank Regulatory Senate Banking Committee Bank Supervision Federal Reserve Dodd-Frank Bank Merger Act

On August 9, Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and John Fetterman (D-PA) wrote a letter to the Chair and Vice Chair of Supervision for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System urging the Fed to “review and reconsider” its procedures for approving bank mergers.  The letter cites the Dodd-Frank Act’s amendment to the Bank Merger Act, which mandates that federal banking regulators consider whether a proposed merger “would result in greater or more concentrated risks” to the stability of the banking or financial system.  The senators also voiced concern that the Fed has “not issued any rules or guidance indicating the types of bank mergers that would implicate financial stability concerns” and criticized the process around the Fed’s approval of recent acquisitions.