The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution that would repeal a rule that required more thorough reviews of bank mergers.
The resolution (S.J. Res 13) would reverse a Biden-era rulemaking issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) OCC that made it significantly tougher for bank mergers to happen.
“Many small banks rely on mergers to grow and stay competitive in today’s market. The Biden-era OCC rule on bank merger reviews would have imposed burdensome standards that stifled innovation and competition and limited consumer choice in the banking sector,” U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said. “I commend Senator Kennedy, Representative Barr, and all who supported this CRA in both the House and the Senate for their work to support a more competitive banking system.”
The resolution now moves to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
“Customers now demand advanced technological features such as mobile and online banking, which requires substantial capital investments. Mergers often present the only viable path for these institutions to keep up with these regulatory and technological costs and continue serving their local communities,” Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), one of the sponsors, said. “This CRA supports healthy competition and helps prevent bank failures.”
Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) said the OCC rule burdened banks with too much red tape.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency introduced unnecessary impediments to prevent healthy bank mergers with limited justification. Community banks are the cornerstone of local communities and often mergers present an opportunity to allow them to better keep up with the cost of compliance and technology costs. This is another step to move this economy forward,” Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC), said.