Acting Comptroller Issues Statement on the FDIC’s Proposed Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions — 2024-03-21

WASHINGTON—Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu today issued the following statement at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) board meeting concerning the FDIC proposed statement of policy for merger transactions: I support the FDIC’s proposed Statement of Policy on Bank Merger Transactions and its publication in the Federal Register. The proposed Statement of Policy aims to improve bank merger application outcomes and is broadly consistent with the proposed policy statement issued by the OCC in January. Both are intended to provide additional transparency around the agencies’ reviews of applications under the Bank Merger Act. Bank merger applications exist along a spectrum – they are neither all good, nor all bad. By faithfully applying on a case-by-case basis the Bank Merger Act statutory factors, the diversity and dynamism of the U.S. banking system can be maintained and strengthened.