The Federal Reserve and OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) will hold a hearing on March 8 on whether to allow U.S. Bank to acquire Union Bank. While such mergers are subject to federal review, none have been rejected in over 15 years. And we see the effects.

The United States has lost 70% of its banks in the last four decades, due to mergers and consolidations. This has led to increased costs for consumers, restrictions on credit access and harm to lower-income communities—especially for communities of color. And as this report from the Brookings Institute showed, it has worsened the racial wealth gap.

The era of bank mergers must end, and regulators must put our interests first.

President Biden issued an executive order in July to demand more scrutiny of bank mergers, and Senator Elizabeth Warren has sponsored legislation that would end these rubber-stamp approvals. Rep. Maxine Waters (who chairs the House Financial Services Committee) has called on the Fed to halt all bank mergers whose assets would exceed $100 billion.

If U.S. Bank is allowed to acquire Union Bank, the combined assets would be $664 billion. The Federal Reserve and OCC are also considering three other bank mergers whose assets would exceed $100 billion, but none are as big as the U.S. Bank-Union Bank proposal.

Sign the petition to the Federal Reserve Board and the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency): Reject the $600 billion merger of U.S. Bank and Union Bank.