Congress moves to block bank merger review rule—but won't say why
H.J.Res. 92 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the Department of the Treasury relating to the review of applications under the Bank Merger Act. · Filed by Andy Barr (R-KY) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 10, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This resolution disapproves a Treasury Department rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in September 2024 that changed how the OCC reviews bank merger applications. If passed, the rule would be nullified and have no legal effect, returning merger review to its prior standard.
Why we flagged it
This is a Congressional Review Act (CRA) disapproval resolution targeting a specific OCC rule governing bank merger applications. Its functional effect is to reverse or nullify a regulatory change, making it a deregulatory or regulatory-rollback instrument.
What the text implies
- The bill does not disclose what the September 2024 OCC rule actually changed — whether it tightened merger scrutiny (pro-consumer) or loosened it (pro-consolidation). Citizens cannot assess the civic impact without knowing the rule's substance.
- Disapproving the rule returns merger review to pre-September 2024 standards, but those prior standards are not described in this text. The prior regime may have been more or less stringent than the rule being disapproved.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
large banks and financial institutions seeking to merge; banking sector consolidation