HR-6546 — Merger Process Review Act

This bill has advanced since we wrote our summary.

Current stage on Congress.gov: Reported in House.

YourVoice.Now Summary

When banks want to merge, they need approval from federal regulators like the FDIC and the Federal Reserve — but those reviews can drag on for months or even years with little accountability. This bill would require the Inspector General of each banking regulator to audit the merger review process every three years, looking at processing times, sources of delay, and whether approved mergers helped or hurt competition and consumers. The findings and recommendations would be reported to Congress and published online, and each agency would have to respond with a plan to fix any problems. It applies to all major bank and credit union regulators, covering everything from small community bank mergers to large holding company acquisitions.

Congressional Summary

This bill requires the appropriate Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that serves the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the National Credit Union Administration to periodically review the merger applications received by that regulator. Specifically, every three years, the appropriate OIG must examine that regulator’s merger approval procedures, including timeliness and efficiency, and report on its findings and recommendations. The regulator must then submit a plan to implement the appropriate recommendations.

Legislative Subjects

Banking and financial institutions regulationBusiness recordsCongressional oversightCorporate finance and managementGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsLicensing and registrationsPerformance measurement

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: House
Status: summarized
Action: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 453.
Action Date: 2026-02-25
Date Added: 2026-04-11
Source: Congress.gov →

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