Merger Agreement Approvals Clarity Act

Summary#

This bill requires the Comptroller General of the United States (the GAO) to carry out a study about how Federal depository institution regulatory agencies use commitments and conditions when reviewing applications to acquire insured depository institutions. The study must include an evaluation of relevant quantifiable metrics and must review whether the use of commitments and conditions has aligned with statutory requirements or been influenced by extrastatutory issues. The GAO must send a report with its findings to Congress within 6 months after the bill becomes law. The bill defines key terms, names the agencies to be reviewed (the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration Board), and lists the statutes under which merger applications are considered.

What it means for you#

  • The law directs a review and report; it does not itself change how mergers are approved.
  • If you work for or own a bank, credit union, or a company seeking to buy one, the report could review how agencies use conditions in merger approvals that affect those transactions.
  • Congress will receive the GAO’s findings on whether agencies followed statutory rules and whether nonstatutory factors affected their use of commitments or conditions.
  • The GAO must complete and deliver the report within six months of the law’s enactment.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on the expected costs or budgetary effects of carrying out the study or producing the report. The bill requires the GAO to perform the study and issue a report within six months but does not include a cost estimate.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.