Brainard questions Fed approval of bank merger

Fed approves PNC purchase of BBVA USA, while Brainard warns of “weakened” safeguards

Lael Brainard
Lael Brainard, Federal Reserve Board
Image: US Department of the Treasury/Wikimedia Commons

The Federal Reserve Board permitted PNC, the US’s twelfth-largest bank, to purchase the US operations of Spanish bank BBVA on May 14. Board member Lael Brainard abstained on the measure, which passed 5-0.

In a statement, Brainard expressed concern about “increases in banking concentration in the $250 to $700 billion asset size category, where common-sense safeguards have been weakened”.

Randal Quarles, the Fed’s vice-chair for supervision, backed the merger. In a brief statement, he said it

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