Lawmakers urge Fed to streamline M&A processes

Members of the House of Representatives encouraged the Federal Reserve to continue improving the efficiency of bank merger and acquisition application reviews.

Details: In a letter to Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.), Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Chairman Andy Barr (R-Ky.), and 13 subcommittee members requested:

• Swift implementation of the initiatives agreed to in response to the Office of Inspector General’s March review.

• A review of long-pending applications focused on identifying and removing obstacles to final action.

• An identification of additional classes of applications currently requiring direct Fed action.

Priority: Bowman in January said that the Fed would focus on improving the mergers and acquisitions review process.

ICBA Advocacy: ICBA last month said it supports National Credit Union Administration proposed amendments governing the merger of insured credit unions into banks, saying it is a much-needed deregulatory first step to reduce unnecessary procedural burdens.