Bank Regulators Set New Expectations for Approving Bank Mergers

In recent years, the path to approval for bank mergers has often been uncertain, meandering and frustrating for all parties. Often, the merging institutions have been forced to extend the drop-dead dates in the face of regulatory uncertainty and, in some cases, deals have been abandoned because the parties lacked a clear path to agency approval. This situation is likely to improve as two federal regulators — the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) — have issued final guidance that should provide greater clarity about the prospects for regulatory approval before financial institutions sign a merger agreement.

Read Eric Kracov's full article here.