Capital One Gets Fed Approval of ING Deal

The U.S. Federal Reserve approved Capital One Financial’s bid to acquire ING Groep NV’s U.S. online banking unit in the biggest U.S. bank deal since the Dodd-Frank financial law of 2010 mandated stricter merger reviews. All five Fed governors voted in favor of the deal, the Fed said on Tuesday. Capital One announced plans last year to buy online deposit-taker ING Direct for $8.9 billion in a transaction that generated concern from consumer groups who have argued it would create another “too big to fail” bank. As part of its approval, the Fed is requiring Capital One to increase its ability to monitor for internal risk due to “the size, complexity, and diversification of the business lines” that will result from the deal. Karen Petrou, managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics in Washington D.C., said big bank mergers and acqusitions were in a new era. “Because of the unprecedented nature of the Fed’s review, any bank merger of size will be subject to scrutiny never before demanded by the Fed,” she said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46395309/