Waters Statement on Regulators’ Approval of the SunTrust/BB&T Merger

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, gave the following statement in response to the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (FDIC) approval of the merger between SunTrust and BB&T.

“I have long voiced concerns about the threat that megabanks pose to consumers and our economy. In order to shed light on the potential implications of the merger between SunTrust and BB&T, I convened a Financial Services Committee hearing on the merger in July. Days before the public hearing, the banks agreed to a three-year $60 billion community benefits plan with community groups that committed financial resources to low-and-moderate income communities. While bank regulators placed some conditions on the merger, they should have gone further and made the promises in the community benefits plan binding on the new bank. Nevertheless, the Committee will continue to conduct oversight on the new bank, and will follow up to ensure that it makes good on its promises.

“At the Committee hearing on the merger, I also voiced concerns about the merger creating yet another megabank that is too big to manage. Too often bank merger applications have received rubber stamps from bank regulators without serious scrutiny or examination of whether the public benefits.

“I remain very concerned about bank consolidation that is not in the best interest of consumers or beneficial for our economy. Future large bank merger proposals will continue to receive serious scrutiny from the Financial Services Committee.”

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