Washington, D.C.—Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation reversing the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) recent rule complicating the bank merger process. The OCC finalized a rule in September of 2024 amended the Bank Merger Act, putting up additional hurdles on bank mergers without Congressional authorization. The rule would disproportionately impact community and regional banks from pursuing mergers and strategic partnerships.
U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) led a companion version of Barr’s legislation to passage in the U.S. Senate. This bill now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.
“Bank mergers create competition and efficiency in the banking system,” said Congressman Barr, Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions. “By eliminating this rule, we will remove unnecessary guardrails on the bank merger process that make smaller and medium-sized banks less competitive. This is another win for President Trump, who is making our economy stronger by cutting government red-tape and unleashing the free market.”
“The Biden OCC’s final rule complicating the bank merger approval process is yet another example of the last administration’s overregulation hurting Americans and businesses. The rule imposed burdensome red tape by removing the expedited review process and streamlined applications, making it more difficult for banks of all sizes, particularly community and regional banks, to merge and compete. This results in delayed approvals, less competition, and consumer uncertainty, threatening credit services for hardworking Americans,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA). “I’m grateful for Rep. Barr’s leadership on the issue and his work to pass this legislation overturning the harmful Biden OCC rule, and I am happy to see the House send this resolution to the President’s desk.”
“When the Biden administration decided to tinker with bank merger rules for no good reason, they threw a gut punch to small community banks just trying to offer their customers a good service. I’m grateful to the U.S. House of Representatives for doing the right thing, and I look forward to President Trump signing my resolution to undo this cumbersome regulation,” said Senator Kennedy.
“I’m proud that this CRA passed the House today, as the Biden administration’s era of overreach is finally coming to an end,” said U.S. Congressman Tim Moore (R-NC). “Both community and regional banks will benefit from the clarity that this resolution brings to the merger process. As I said on the Floor earlier today, our banking sector is one of the crown jewels of the global economy, and we're committed to strengthening it."
“We applaud today’s House passage of the Congressional Review Act resolution nullifying the OCC’s flawed bank merger rule, and we thank Rep. Andy Barr for leading this effort,” said ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols. “This action, along with the companion resolution led by Sen. John Kennedy and passed by the Senate, will provide regulators with the opportunity to reenvision the framework governing bank mergers so that it more effectively promotes competition while allowing banks to better serve their customers. We look forward to President Trump signing this important resolution into law.”