Big bank gets bigger

While the new power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has made plenty of headlines recently as banks worry about how this organization may impact their business models, it appears that big banks can continue to grow. The Federal Reserve officially gave a nod of approval in Capital One’s proposed acquisition of ING Direct’s online banking unit, which will make Capital One the fifth-biggest bank by deposit and add more than 7 million customers to the financial institution.

Why the Capital One-ING deal was a big debate

Many people wondered whether the Fed would allow another too-big-to-fail bank to become even bigger. They also worried that this will only continue to hurt some of the nation’s community banks, too. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008, financial regulations have popped up to curb potential economic risks the financial industry can contribute to our economy. I certainly think that a big bank growing even bigger can pose certain challenges for the financial system as a whole. However, I believe the Fed has taken great steps toward eliminating the potential for these risks. Big banks now go through regular stress tests, and the FDIC is well on its…

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