US banking groups have criticised last week’s proposals by the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation setting tougher conditions for large bank mergers. The proposal, now open for public comments for two months, will make the size of the bank created by a merger a factor in determining which deals come under further scrutiny from the FDIC.
Because the number of banks with total assets of $100bn has grown considerably over the past few decades, the regulator is looking to increase scrutiny of mergers that create such behemoths.