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Title 12, Banks and BankingRelease 119-110

§1849 Saving Provision

Title 12 › CHAPTER 17 — BANK HOLDING COMPANIES › § 1849

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Requires the Federal Reserve Board to tell the Attorney General right away when it approves a bank acquisition, merger, or consolidation under section 1842. If the deal also involves an acquisition under section 1843, the Board must also tell the Federal Trade Commission. If the Board finds a bank would likely fail without immediate action, the deal can close right away. If the Board asked the Comptroller of the Currency or a State regulator for emergency views and gave them 10 days to respond, the deal cannot close before the fifth calendar day after the Board’s approval. In other cases the deal cannot close before the thirtieth calendar day after approval, except the Board (with the Attorney General’s agreement and if the Attorney General has no adverse competitive comments) may shorten that period but not to less than 15 calendar days. Any antitrust lawsuit about a Board-approved deal must start before the earliest date the deal could legally close. Filing such a suit pauses the Board’s approval unless a court orders otherwise. The court must review the case anew and must use the same standards the Board used when the claim is that the deal by itself violated antitrust laws other than section 2 of title 15. Once a deal approved under these rules closes in compliance with the waiting periods and any timely antitrust cases are finished or none were filed, the deal cannot later be sued in court on those same antitrust grounds (except section 2), though the bank must still follow antitrust laws after closing. If the FDIC finds an insured bank may close and is thinking of helping a buyer under section 1823(f), the FDIC must tell the Board. The Board must then tell the Attorney General. The Attorney General has 5 days to give a written preliminary view about antitrust consistency. For these FDIC cases, the Board may cut the post-approval waiting time but not below 5 days without the Attorney General’s agreement. The Board and any State banking agency may join antitrust suits about approved deals and use their own lawyers. Deals finished before or after May 9, 1956, that the Attorney General did not sue about before July 1, 1966, are conclusively presumed not to have violated antitrust laws other than section 2 of title 15. Courts with antitrust cases still pending on or after July 1, 1966, must apply the substantive rule in section 1842. Antitrust laws here means the Sherman Act (Act of July 2, 1890), the Clayton Act (Act of October 15, 1914), and related laws.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §1849

Banks and Banking, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)General rule
Nothing herein contained shall be interpreted or construed as approving any act, action, or conduct which is or has been or may be in violation of existing law, nor shall anything herein contained constitute a defense to any action, suit, or proceeding pending or hereafter instituted on account of any prohibited antitrust or monopolistic act, action, or conduct, except as specifically provided in this section.
(b)Antitrust review
(1)In general
The Board shall immediately notify the Attorney General of any approval by it pursuant to section 1842 of this title of a proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction and, if the transaction also involves an acquisition under section 1843 of this title, the Board shall also notify the Federal Trade Commission of such approval. If the Board has found that it must act immediately in order to prevent the probable failure of a bank or bank holding company involved in any such transaction, the transaction may be consummated immediately upon approval by the Board. If the Board has advised the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority, as the case may be, of the existence of an emergency requiring expeditious action and has required the submission of views and recommendations within ten days, the transaction may not be consummated before the fifth calendar day after the date of approval by the Board. In all other cases, the transaction may not be consummated before the thirtieth calendar day after the date of approval by the Board or, if the Board has not received any adverse comment from the Attorney General of the United States relating to competitive factors, such shorter period of time as may be prescribed by the Board with the concurrence of the Attorney General, but in no event less than 15 calendar days after the date of approval. Any action brought under the antitrust laws arising out of an acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction approved under section 1842 of this title shall be commenced prior to the earliest time under this subsection at which the transaction approval under section 1842 of this title might be consummated. The commencement of such an action shall stay the effectiveness of the Board’s approval unless the court shall otherwise specifically order. In any such action, the court shall review de novo the issues presented. In any judicial proceeding attacking any acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction approved pursuant to section 1842 of this title on the ground that such transaction alone and of itself constituted a violation of any antitrust laws other than section 2 of title 15, the standards applied by the court shall be identical with those that the Board is directed to apply under section 1842 of this title. Upon the consummation of an acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction approved under section 1842 of this title in compliance with this chapter and after the termination of any antitrust litigation commenced within the period prescribed in this section, or upon the termination of such period if no such litigation is commenced therein, the transaction may not thereafter be attacked in any judicial proceeding on the ground that it alone and of itself constituted a violation of any antitrust laws other than section 2 of title 15, but nothing in this chapter shall exempt any bank holding company involved in such a transaction from complying with the antitrust laws after the consummation of such transaction.
(2)section 1823(f) cases
(A)If—
(i)the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation learns that a bank insured by such Corporation is in danger of closing; and
(ii)the Corporation is considering assisting the acquisition of such bank and its affiliated banks by another bank or holding company under section 1823(f) of this title and such acquisition is subject to the approval of the Board under section 1842 of this title;
the Corporation shall immediately notify the Board of such facts.
(B)Upon receipt of notice from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under subparagraph (A) or at such earlier time as deemed appropriate by the Board, the Board shall immediately notify the Attorney General of the United States of the facts concerning the possible acquisition.
(C)Within 5 days of receiving notice under subparagraph (B), the Attorney General shall notify the Board in writing of the Attorney General’s preliminary finding as to the consistency of the possible acquisition with the antitrust laws.
(D)The Board may reduce or eliminate the post-approval waiting period established under paragraph (1) for an acquisition to which this paragraph applies, except that such period may not be eliminated or reduced to less than 5 days without the concurrence of the Attorney General.
(c)Antitrust proceedings; Board and State banking agency as party; representation by counsel
In any action brought under the antitrust laws arising out of any acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction approved by the Board under section 1842 of this title, the Board and any State banking supervisory agency having jurisdiction within the State involved, may appear as a party of its own motion and as of right, and be represented by its counsel.
(d)Treatment of merger transactions consummated prior or subsequent to May 9, 1956, and not in litigation prior to July 1, 1966
Any acquisition, merger, or consolidation of the kind described in section 1842(a) of this title which was consummated at any time prior or subsequent to May 9, 1956, and as to which no litigation was initiated by the Attorney General prior to July 1, 1966, shall be conclusively presumed not to have been in violation of any antitrust laws other than section 2 of title 15.
(e)Antitrust litigation; substantive law applicable to proceedings pending on or after July 1, 1966, with respect to merger transactions
Any court having pending before it on or after July 1, 1966, any litigation initiated under the antitrust laws by the Attorney General with respect to any acquisition, merger, or consolidation of the kind described in section 1842(a) of this title shall apply the substantive rule of law set forth in section 1842 of this title.
(f)“Antitrust laws” defined
For the purposes of this section, the term “antitrust laws” means the Act of July 2, 1890 (the Sherman Antitrust Act), the Act of October 15, 1914 (the Clayton Act), and any other Acts in pari materia.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Act of July 2, 1890 (the Sherman Antitrust Act), referred to in subsec. (f), is classified to sections 1 to 7 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 1 of Title 15 and Tables. Act of October 15, 1914 (the Clayton Act), referred to in subsec. (f), is act Oct. 15, 1914, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730, which is classified generally to section 12, 13, 14 to 19, 21, and 22 to 27 of Title 15, and section 52 and 53 of Title 29, Labor. For further details and complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

References in Text

note set out under section 12 of Title 15 and Tables.

Amendments

1999—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 106–102 inserted before period at end of first sentence “and, if the transaction also involves an acquisition under section 1843 of this title, the Board shall also notify the Federal Trade Commission of such approval”. 1994—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 103–325 inserted before period at end of fourth sentence “or, if the Board has not received any adverse comment from the Attorney General of the United States relating to competitive factors, such shorter period of time as may be prescribed by the Board with the concurrence of the Attorney General, but in no event less than 15 calendar days after the date of approval”. 1987—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–86 designated existing provisions as par. (1) and added par. (2). 1977—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95–188 authorized a proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction to be consummated immediately upon approval by the Board where the Board has found that it must act immediately in order to prevent the probable failure of a bank or bank holding company involved in any such transaction; prohibited a transaction from being consummated before the fifth calendar day after the date of approval by the Board where the Board has advised the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority, as the case may be, of the existence of an emergency requiring expeditious action and has required the submission of views and recommendations within ten days; continued for all other cases the thirty day waiting period after date of approval by the Board for consummation of the transaction; and substituted provision for commencement of stay actions prior to the earliest time at which the transaction approval under section 1842 of this title might be consummated for prior provision for commencement of such stay actions within the thirty-day waiting period. 1970—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 91–607, § 104(a), substituted “section 1842 of this title” for “this chapter” where appearing first two times, and inserted “approved under section 1842 of this title” in second sentence before “shall be commended” and in last sentence before “in compliance with this chapter”. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91–607, § 104(b), substituted “under section 1842 of this title” for “pursuant to this chapter”. 1966—Pub. L. 89–485 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted “except as specifically provided in this section”, and added subsecs. (b) to (f).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1999 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106–102 effective 120 days after Nov. 12, 1999, see section 161 of Pub. L. 106–102, set out as a note under section 24 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 1849

Title 12, Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110