FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 24, 2024
CONTACT
Carter Dougherty, carter@ourfinancialsecurity.org
New York Probe on Capital One-Discover Merger a Welcome Step
OCC should not stand in the way of a thorough review
A new probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James, revealed in a court filing Wednesday, marks an important step in pushing back against the proposed merger of Capital One and Discover, one that should prompt other state antitrust officials to join efforts to block this harmful transaction.
The filing highlights the corrosive impact the proposed merger would have on credit card markets, especially for consumers with lower credit scores, where the merger would steeply increase concentration and make these lower-income households vulnerable to unavoidable price hikes.
“State officials have ample authority to investigate whether the proposed creation of a new megabank is in the best interests of consumers and competition,” said Patrick Woodall, managing director of policy at Americans for Financial Reform. “New York is leading the way. Others should follow.”
James revealed in a court filing Wednesday that she is seeking court permission to serve subpoenas on Capital One and Discover for data and documents about the businesses necessary to evaluate the proposed merger’s impact on New York consumers. While Discover agreed to provide information, Capital One has refused.
Notably, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has supported Capital One’s position, denying, on spurious grounds, the New York attorney general access to the kinds of documents that the bank has already provided to federal regulators and the Department of Justice, according to the New York court filing.
“If federal officials – including the OCC – are interested in a thorough and serious review of this proposed merger, they will not stand in the way of state antitrust authorities using their statutory authority to enforce the law,” Woodall said. “If they do not, they are whitewashing the potential harms that will come from this merger.”
The New York filing is in line with antitrust concerns that AFR has been raising with federal and state antitrust and banking regulators — especially the negative impacts on families with non-prime credit scores. The antitrust implications of the takeover are, as AFR has explained, are dire: “The unique vertical elements of the merger — combining a bank with a credit and debit card network — would entrench Capital One as a dominant high-cost credit card issuer and raise costs for merchants and consumers.”
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