The Federal Reserve has approved Discover Financial's massive $35.3 billion bid to acquire Discover Financial, which will reshape the banking landscape in the US. The deal will ensure that the combined entity surpasses JPMorgan Chase as the largest credit card lender in the US. Today's announcement by the Fed comes after the deal secured approval from the Justice Department earlier this month to advance Capital One's bid.
Federal Reserve Assesses $100 Million Fine For Discover Financial As Part Of Approving Acquisition By Capital One
Discover's latest tryst with big banks comes after the firm was spun off by investment bank Morgan Stanley in 2007. Capital One announced the acquisition in 2024 in an all-stock offer valued at $35.3 billion. Since then, the Justice Department remained skeptical of the deal last year under the Biden Administration. However, with the change of government, the deal moved forward earlier this month after a highly-anticipated Justice Department approval.
Following DOJ's go-ahead, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) approval were left. As part of its evaluation, the DOJ had considered the impact of the deal on new credit card customers and anticompetitive concerns. Subsequently, its approval was the hardest and along with the Federal Reserve, the OCC also signed off on the deal.
In its statement announcing the approval, the central bank outlined that it evaluated "the financial and managerial resources of the companies, the convenience and needs of the communities to be served by the combined organization, and the competitive and financial stability impacts of the proposal," along with other factors.
The Fed added that it entered into a consent order with Discover through which the central bank evaluated a $100 million fine for Discover's overcharging of merchants. The bank has settled overcharging lawsuits with a $1.2 billion settlement, and Capital One committed to the Fed "that it will comply with the Board's action against Discover, including remediation requirements."
As part of its approval, the OCC outlined that the approval is "conditioned upon the approved plans detailing effective and sustainable corrective actions and timelines to address the root causes of any outstanding enforcement actions against Discover Bank and remediation of harm." It added that the new entity will have $660 billion in total assets, which would place it below US Bancorp and make it the 8th largest US bank by total assets.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
