(DNCF)—Capital One announced on Monday it was acquiring a rival financial services company in a massive stock deal as Americans continue to be plagued with credit card debt, according to The New York Times.
The McLean, Virginia-based bank announced it would acquire Discover Financial Services in a $35.3 billion all-stock transaction, The New York Times reported. The acquisition of Discover would give Capital One more market power due to Discover having a payments network of its own at the same time as credit card debt continues to mount for consumers, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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The acquisition could face a major hurdle from federal regulators, The New York Times reported. The Comptroller of the Currency announced it wanted to slow down the process to approve mergers and acquisitions on Jan. 29.
$34.2 trillion in debt and Capital One is merging w/ Discover to combat a surge in loan nonperformance (defaults & delinquencies), but instead of giving taxpayers a break so they can pay down their record credit card balances, let's send more money we don't have overseas… pic.twitter.com/scxaIyZqXy
— E.J. Antoni, Ph.D. (@RealEJAntoni) February 19, 2024
“It is very difficult to imagine how federal regulators could allow Capital One to buy Discover given the requirement that mergers benefit the public as well as insiders,” National Community Reinvestment Coalition President and CEO Jesse Van Tol told The New York Times.
Discover shareholders will receive a 26% premium over the company’s closing stock price, getting a little less than 102 shares of Capital One stock for every 100 shares of Discover stock if regulators approve the acquisition.
The deal comes as Americans’ total household debt hit $17.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Credit card delinquencies of 90 days or more rose to 6.36% at the end of 2023, while total credit card debt rose to $1.13 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“Credit card and auto loan transitions into delinquency are still rising above pre-pandemic levels,” New York Fed advisor Wilbert van der Klaauw said in a statement. “This signals increased financial stress, especially among younger and lower-income households.”
Capital One and Discover did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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