WASHINGTON — A group of progressive lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have asked the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve to block
In a
"This merger is bad for consumers," the lawmakers said in the letter. "To protect consumers and financial stability, we urge you to block this merger and strengthen your proposed policy statement to prevent harmful deals in the future."
The two regulators, alongside the Department of Justice, will play a role in reviewing the proposed deal. While the Biden administration has signaled more scrutiny toward financial industry consolidation, Capital One could
The lawmakers also pointed to the two firms' enforcement history with the regulators as evidence that the bank regulators should reject the acquisition. For example, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in 2012 ordered Capital One to repay $140 million to customers with low credit scores who they said were misled into paying for additional products. And just last year, Discover received a
The Democrats' letter takes aim at the OCC in particular. Warren and Hsu have a
The signatories to Monday's letter pointed out that Hsu, in a speech last year, warned about banks becoming too large to manage or handle.
"But OCC's actions fly in the face of these concerns," they said in the letter.
The OCC has approved "almost every merger application it received in the last three years," the lawmakers said. And
"Troublingly, the OCC's proposed policy statement essentially codifies the OCC's current, permissive approach to bank mergers — the same standard operating procedure that for decades has failed to protect consumers and the financial system," they said. "It is critical that the OCC strengthen its proposed policy statement to ensure that future mergers do not harm consumers and the broader economy."
Early in the Biden administration, the White House
