Today, following the announcement that SunTrust and BB&T plan to merge, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, made the following statement:

“Last Congress, I and other Democrats warned that S. 2155, which Republicans claimed to be a bill to benefit community banks, was in fact a broader deregulatory giveaway to large banks that would fuel mergers, accelerate industry consolidation, and make it more difficult for community banks to compete. Nonetheless, Republicans pushed the bill through and it was signed into law.

“At the same time, the Trump Administration’s appointees to the bank regulatory agencies are providing regulatory relief to very large banks, creating further incentives for big banks to get even bigger.

“This proposed merger between SunTrust and BB&T is a direct consequence of the deregulatory agenda that Trump and Congressional Republicans have advanced. The proposed merger raises many questions and deserves serious scrutiny from banking regulators, Congress and the public to determine its impact and whether it would create a public benefit for consumers.”

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