DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT
As our in-depth analysis (see FSM Report MERGER8) makes clear, the Warren- García legislation on bank M&A makes the Biden competitiveness policy (see Client Report MERGER6) – strongly opposed by the industry – seem positively congenial. Just for starters, the legislation goes beyond bank consolidation also to attack bank expansion via new or even revised BHC activities. One pillar of the proposal is the assertion that bank consolidation fosters banking “deserts.” However, as we also noted, recent Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland research doesn’t support this proposition.