Merger Agreement Approvals Clarity and Predictability Act
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedMr. Fitzgerald introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill, called the "Merger Agreement Approvals Clarity and Predictability Act," requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study how federal banking regulators review bank merger applications. The GAO must examine whether regulators at the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and National Credit Union Administration Board are using their statutory authority appropriately or imposing conditions based on factors outside their legal mandate. The study must be completed and reported to Congress within 6 months.
Who Benefits and How
Banks, bank holding companies, and credit unions seeking to merge or acquire other institutions stand to benefit from this bill. The study is designed to scrutinize whether federal regulators have been imposing extrastatutory conditions or commitments on merger applications, potentially laying the groundwork for future legislation that would limit regulatory discretion and streamline the merger approval process. Financial institutions may face fewer regulatory hurdles when pursuing mergers if the study leads to policy changes restricting regulators' ability to impose conditions beyond statutory requirements.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The GAO will bear the immediate burden of conducting this comprehensive study, requiring resources to evaluate quantifiable metrics and review federal banking agencies' merger approval processes. Federal banking regulators at the Fed, OCC, FDIC, and NCUA may face increased scrutiny and potential criticism if the study finds they have been using extrastatutory considerations in merger reviews. These agencies will need to cooperate with the GAO investigation and may face pressure to modify their practices based on the study's findings.
Key Provisions
- Requires the GAO to conduct a study on how federal banking regulators use commitments and conditions when reviewing bank and credit union merger applications
- Mandates the study evaluate whether regulators have imposed conditions based on statutory requirements or extrastatutory issues and considerations
- Requires the study to include an evaluation of relevant quantifiable metrics
- Sets a 6-month deadline for the GAO to report findings and determinations to Congress
- Defines key terms including "insured depository institution merger application" to cover acquisitions under multiple federal banking laws including the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, Bank Holding Company Act, Federal Credit Union Act, and Home Owners' Loan Act
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires GAO to study how federal banking regulators use commitments and conditions when reviewing insured depository institution merger applications
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Increase transparency and accountability in bank merger approval process by requiring GAO to review whether regulators have imposed commitments and conditions based on statutory requirements versus extrastatutory considerations"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Banks and financial institutions seeking mergers
- Bank holding companies
- Credit unions seeking mergers or acquisitions
Likely Burden Bearers
- Federal banking regulators (Fed, OCC, FDIC, NCUA)
- GAO (tasked with conducting study and report)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States (GAO)
- "federal_depository_institution_regulatory_agencies"
- → Board of Governors of Federal Reserve System, Comptroller of the Currency, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and National Credit Union Administration Board
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An application, notice, or other similar request for permission submitted to a Federal depository institution regulatory agency
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
Has the meaning given in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) and includes insured credit unions as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752)
An application with respect to the acquisition of an insured depository institution, its equity interests, its assets, or its deposits under various sections of banking law (Home Owners' Loan Act, Federal Credit Union Act, Federal Deposit Insurance Act, Bank Holding Company Act)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology