Capital One, Discover Merger, with important approval, gets paving methods for the new biggest US credit card issuer

capital(COF) Discovered $35 billion purchase (DFS) gained green light from major regulators, paving the way for the creation of the largest credit card company in the United States.

Two regulators responsible for approving the transaction — the Federal Reserve and the Secretary of Currency (OCC) said Friday that they have approved the transaction based on companies that meet several final conditions.

“This approval is granted based on a thorough review of all available information,” a letter from the OCC’s Large Bank Licensing Bureau said.

The Fed and OCC said in separate statements that they concluded that the merger is consistent with the statutory merger approval rules.

Specifically, regulators found that combining the two companies would significantly reduce competition, not endanger the convenience and needs of any community of bank services, reduce the effectiveness of the institution’s ability to combat the laundry, and pose risks to banks and the broader US financial system. The OCC said in a statement it concluded that the merger is consistent with rules set forth in the Bank Mergers Act.

The merger approval also came with a consent order with Discover and $100 million fines to overcharge customers for certain interchange fees from 2007 to 2023. Discover has terminated these practices and is repaying these fees to affected customers.

The OCC said the approval is subject to providing capital to provide “a plan to address the underlying root causes and harm remediation plans for outstanding enforcement actions against the discovery bank.”

Capital One’s purchase of Discover is greater than the bank’s Colossus JPMorgan Chase, and the loan volume makes it the largest credit card issuer in the US (JPM) By that scale. Capital One is well known for its ubiquitous television ads, asking, “What’s in your wallet?”

According to the Federal Reserve, the total bank is expected to have a combined assets of around $637.8 billion, with approximately $637.8 billion.

Capital One also has a significant credit card payment network of over 300 million cardholders, allowing consumers to swipe their cards in the register to have a major impact on the fees they pay by merchants.

“The OCC is working on a regulatory framework that expands access to financial services for consumers, businesses and communities,” Rodney Hood, representative general of currency, said in a statement in the release.