Federal Reserve, OCC to host webinar on the Capital One – Discover merger

The Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) will hold a joint public meeting on the proposal by Capital One to acquire Discover Financial Services.

Back in February, Capital One, a bank and credit card issuer, announced that it was buying credit card processor Discover Financial Services for $35.3 billion.

The purpose of the public meeting is to collect information from a wide range of stakeholders as the agencies evaluate the applications. By law, the agencies are required to evaluate:

• The convenience and needs of the communities to be served by the combined organization;
• Each insured depository institution’s performance under the Community Reinvestment Act;
• Competition in the relevant markets;
• The effects of the proposal on the stability of the U.S. banking or financial system;
• The financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the companies and banks involved in the proposal; and
• The effectiveness of the companies and banks in combatting money laundering activities.

The public meeting will be held virtually on July 19 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. Members of the public seeking to present oral comments must register by 12:00 p.m. EDT on June 28, through the online registration webpage, which will be posted on the Board’s Capital One-Discover Application Reading Room by May 28.

The agencies announced that they are extending the public comment period for the applications to give interested parties additional time to comment. Comments on the applications will now be accepted through July 24.

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