The Federal Reserve approved a trio of regional bank mergers on Friday, including First Citizens BancShares’ acquisition of CIT Group, which has long been awaiting regulatory approval.
The Fed signed off on the three mergers unanimously amid a broader fight in Washington over the bank merger approval process.
The approval of the First Citizens-CIT deal, which is the biggest of the three mergers, ended a lengthy process at the Fed. The combination of North Carolina-based First Citizens and New York-based CIT Group would create a bank with about $111 billion in assets.
The two companies first announced the merger in October 2020. They had
Also late Friday, the Fed approved Waterbury, Connecticut-based Webster Financial’s acquisition of New York-based Sterling Bancorp, a deal set to result in a $65.4 billion-asset bank.
The regulator also signed off on Wilmington, Delaware-based WSFS Financial’s acquisition of Bryn Mawr Bank Corp. in Pennsylvania, whose tie-up will lead to a $20 billion-asset bank.
The WSFS-Bryn Mawr deal was announced in March 2021, and the Webster-Sterling deal was announced the following month.
Larger bank deals, particularly those that result in banks with more than $100 billion in assets, have come under more scrutiny during the Biden administration.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s board
House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif., recently asked the Fed and other regulators to place a moratorium on mergers that lead to banks with more than $100 billion of assets.
Though the Fed approved the First Citizens-CIT deal, three other mergers that would result in
banks with more than $100 billion in assets are still pending with regulators: U.S. Bancorp’s acquisition of MUFG Union Bank; M&T Bank’s bid for People’s United Financial; and Citizens Financial Group’s merger with Investors Bancorp.
