Congressional Republicans are close to repealing the modernized bank merger review process rules enacted early this year, with a final vote on a Congressional Review Act measure to overturn the rules expected as soon as this week. National Community Reinvestment Coalition President and CEO Jesse Van Tol released the following statement.
When two banks want to merge, the burden of proof is on them to show that the new, larger company will improve service to the public. Banking law is crystal clear on that: Mergers must benefit the public at large, not just the insiders and shareholders who hope to cash out deal bonuses and dividends. If a bank can’t show that convincingly, they don’t get to merge.
That’s all the new merger review rules sought to do: To end the presumption of approval on a few weeks notice, and to return the obligation of making sound commitments to communities to the banks instead of treating all mergers as inherently good ideas unless the government can prove – in a matter of weeks – that they’re not.
