The just-filed Department of Justice lawsuit against Visa marks a necessary, but not the only, step needed to challenge the anticompetitive practices by the credit card and payment processing company that penalize consumers and restrains robust competition.
Today, the Justice Department released a new approach to bank merger enforcement that brings the woefully outdated bank merger guidelines into the 21st century. The Justice Department announced that it would apply the greatly improved overall merger guidelines, which were released in 2023, to bank mergers as well. The bank merger rules that are currently in place date from the era of dial-up modems and are totally insufficient to address the complex market power issues posed by many proposed bank mergers — including the pending Capital One-Discover merger.
The $35 billion takeover bid would vault Capital One into 6th place among the biggest U.S. banks and create the largest U.S. credit card lender, ahead of current leader JPMorgan Chase. This new company could raise prices for cardholders, especially lower-income consumers and Black and Latine households and give Capital One the power to jack up debit card fees on merchants. In short, it would reinforce the megabank monopoly power that is already a serious problem in the American economy. The Biden administration must stand up for consumers, communities, and small businesses and block the Capital One-Discover merger.
AFREF submitted a comment supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule to require complex companies including private equity firms to disclose more information about their holdings and business lines when pursuing mergers and acquisitions.
Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund sent a letter commending the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice for developing a robust, accessible update to the merger guidelines
New study by the American Antitrust Institute and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund calls attention to the growing presence of private equity ownership in the home healthcare sector.
Amid growing concern about corporate consolidation, the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund are leading a letter calling for the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to reject a proposed merger between TD Bank and First Horizon Bank.
At long last, private equity is getting the attention it deserves from antitrust authorities as a force for consolidation, higher prices, and less consumer choice.
AFREF, joined by the Center for Economic Policy and Research and United for Respect, sent a comment letter responding to the FTC and DOJ’s request for information on merger enforcement. The letter calls on the agencies to to closely scrutinize and create presumptions to challenge acquisitions that employ leveraged buyouts and techniques like it.
The federal authorities should halt all bank merger approvals until they strengthen the outdated guidelines that govern whether financial institutions can combine, according to a letter delivered today by 30 public interest organizations.