WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Scott Fitzgerald’s (WI-05) Merger Agreement Approvals Clarity and Predictability Act, legislation that addresses political intrusion into the regulatory approval process for bank mergers and acquisitions, passed the House Financial Services Committee today. Specifically, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a thorough review of how federal regulators use commitments and conditions when approving mergers of insured depository institutions. It also directs GAO to determine whether regulators rely on extrastatutory considerations, such as policy preferences or non-statutory goals, when conditioning merger approvals.
“The Merger Agreement Approvals Clarity and Predictability Act, ensures clarity, consistency, and accountability in how merger approvals are handled,” said Congressman Scott Fitzgerald. “It makes clear that institutions, large and small, know what is required for a merger based on law, not on shifting or informal agency expectations. For many community banks, mid-sized institutions, and credit unions, unpredictable conditions add cost, complexity, and risk. That uncertainty can chill beneficial transactions, inhibit consolidation where it makes sense, reduce efficiency, and ultimately harm consumers and depositors. By directing GAO to conduct an objective, data-driven study, we provide the Financial Services Committee with the information needed to determine whether regulators are operating within the boundaries Congress set.”
BACKGROUND: This bill, consistent with executive orders prohibiting debanking and political influence in banking regulation, directs the Comptroller General to review the prudential regulators’ use of conditions and commitments in insured depository institution merger approvals. The study must determine whether such conditions were imposed in accordance with statutory requirements or were influenced by other considerations, including political objectives or debanking-related factors. The Comptroller General is required to submit a report to Congress within one year detailing all the findings and determinations made during the study. While prudential regulators possess limited discretionary authority to impose conditions or commitments, that discretion must be exercised within the bounds of statutory requirements and without political bias.
Read the bill text here.
