“With a merger this size, the regulators need to ensure our financial system remains strong and competitive, so that consumers continue to have access to safe, affordable financial products and services,” said Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
“A
rubber-stamped merger that makes powerful financial companies even bigger and more powerful will do nothing for families,” he added.
Capital One announced Monday that it would acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion
all-stock deal. The deal could close as early as late 2024, pending approval from regulators and shareholders of the two companies.
“Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” said Richard Fairbank, founder, chairman and CEO of Capital One.
The merger would help “transform the payments and banking marketplace,” Fairbank added.
But Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a Senate Banking Committee member, urged regulators to block the proposed merger.
“The merger of [Capital One] and [Discover] threatens our financial stability, reduces competition, and would increase fees and credit costs for American families,” Warren wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“This Wall Street deal is dangerous and will harm working people. Regulators must block it immediately.”
Brown and Warren are both up for reelection
during the 2024 election cycle. While Warren is expected to easily win reelection, Brown is facing one of the toughest races this cycle as Republicans fight to win back the Senate.
Other corporate accountability groups have called on federal regulators to block the merger.
“The Capital One—Discover deal will create another colossal too-big-to-fail bank while supercharging consolidation in the credit card sector,” said Shahid Naeem, senior policy analyst at the American Economic Liberties Project, a nonprofit that supports stricter antitrust policies.
“Greenlighting the creation of the nation’s sixth-largest bank and the largest credit card issuer is indefensible, particularly as the harms of bank and credit card consolidation are already causing enforcers and Congress to chart a stricter approach to both.”
The Hill’s Taylor Giorno has more here.
