Regulators Must Block Capital One-Discover Merger, 138 Community Organizations Write In Comment Letter

One day after Capital One announced dubious community commitments it negotiated privately with four nonprofit organizations, a vast cohort of 138 advocacy organizations wrote to regulators rejecting Capital One's proposed acquisition of Discover.

"[T]his merger would reduce options for financially vulnerable customers and reduce the already limited competition on pricing for non-prime credit cards," the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and 137 co-signers wrote in the letter. "Capital One is also an industry leader in filing debt collection civil suits [which] often create financial emergencies where customers are forced to let other bills go unpaid, further trapping them in a vicious cycle of debt."

The full letter can be read here. It makes detailed arguments about the proposed deal's effects on competition, community needs, the banks' own soundness and the structural stability of the wider financial system.

"Capital One has a track record of making big shiny promises in order to get a merger approved then quietly dropping them a short while later, so it's no surprise that so many ground-level economic justice advocates see right through what they're doing this time," said Jesse Van Tol, President and CEO of NCRC. "Our movement works to build wealth and opportunity, not promote credit card debt and exorbitant interest rates. Our movement brings well-intentioned bank officials and diligent community activists together for transparent discussions, not secret talks smothered under nondisclosure agreements. Capital One may have earned the admiration of the financial sector through its ruthless pursuit of profit from lower-income communities, but the advocacy community knows better. I hope the regulators who taxpayers trust to protect us will see through the bank's smokescreen too."

Previously: