HR-6546 — Merger Process Review Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Transparency & AccountabilityCorporate Benefits

Your bank account would not change — but watchdogs would review and report on how bank mergers get approved.

Transparency & Accountability

Public reports on bank merger reviews — every three years

Each of the four bank regulators has a watchdog office, called the inspector general. That office would check how the agency handles merger requests. The first check is due within a year. Each report must go to Congress and be posted online.

Merger reviews must judge competition effects — and access to bank services

The review covers more than speed. It must also look at how approved mergers change competition. And whether people can still get the bank services they need.

Regulators must publicly answer watchdog findings — plan to act required

After each report, the agency must write back to Congress. It must post that answer online too. The answer must include a plan to act on the advice, where the agency thinks that fits.

Corporate Benefits

Pressure to approve bank mergers faster — delay sources must be found

The review must pinpoint what slows merger decisions down. It must also suggest ways to speed them up. Banks and credit unions waiting on approval would gain if the agency acts on that advice.

More about this bill

Your bank accounts, fees, and loans would not change. What changes is what the public gets to see. Four federal agencies decide when banks and credit unions may merge. They are the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the credit union regulator. Each would face a regular, independent review of how it handles those requests. The reviewer would be the agency's own inspector general, a watchdog who checks the agency's work. The first review would be due within a year, and a new one every three years after that. Each review would measure how long merger decisions take. It would also name what causes delays. And it would weigh how approved mergers affect competition and access to bank services. The findings would go to Congress and be posted online. Each agency would then have to publish a written response, plus a plan to act on the advice.

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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