Capital One Denies Access to Business Plans in Merger Investigation

October 24, 2024

Capital One Denies Access to Business Plans in Merger Investigation

WASHINGTON, D.C. - New York Attorney General Letitia James petitioned the New York Supreme Court for a subpoena for information from Capital One in relation to its proposed merger with the Discover credit card company. Discover agreed to allow New York officials to access the materials, but Capital One declined. The merger is under review by Washington regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, released the following statement:

"James understands this merger may hurt consumers, especially those with less income, a demographic where Capital One historically charges high interest rates. The merger would leave the company with 30% of the subprime credit card market, meaning even higher costs for vulnerable communities.

"It is revealing that Capital One is hiding behind procedural barriers. A company with an honorable business plan should be willing to share it with any rigorous investigator.

"This merger not only would hurt consumers, it would produce another too-big-to-fail bank. The regional bank failures of 2023 demonstrated that financial calamity did not end with the 2008 Wall Street crash."