Since the beginning of the crisis, there have been several transformative banking mergers including:
- J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s purchases of Bear Stearns Cos. and Washington Mutual Inc.
- Bank of America Corp.'s purchases of Merrill Lynch & Co. and Countrywide Financial Corp.
- Wells Fargo & Co.'s agreement to buy Wachovia Corp.
According to
AAI President Bert Foer, government agencies should carefully review the
transactions as part of a larger investigation into how the sector should be
restructured and regulated once order has been restored to the U.S. financial
markets.
"While these transactions may not raise clear antitrust
concerns under prevailing competition law principles relating to efficiency
justifications or failing companies, future restructuring arrangements should
attempt to arrange the least anticompetitive transaction feasible within the
available time for acting," said Foer.
The recommendation follows a similar piece in The Deal newsweekly. - Cecile Kohrs Lindell
Cecile Kohrs Lindell is a senior writer in The Deal's Washington bureau.
