Merger Process Review Act

New reviews of bank merger process

If enacted, this bill would require each Federal depository institution Inspector General to review that agency's merger review procedures. Reviews would be due within 1 year of enactment and then every 3 years. Reviews would measure mean and median processing times, find sources of delay, weigh alternative review approaches, and assess effects on safety and soundness, financial stability, competition, and availability of bank and credit union products. Each Inspector General would send a report to Congress and publish it online. The covered agencies, and the definitions of covered institutions and merger filings, would be the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the FDIC, and the NCUA Board, and would include insured banks and insured credit unions and applications for acquisitions of institutions, equity, assets, or deposits under the listed authorities. After each report, the appropriate agency would submit and publish a written response that includes a plan to implement the recommendations where appropriate.