This decision would allow the two banking regulators that must approve the deal — the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — to approve the transaction. Staff at the Justice Department were divided about whether the merger should be challenged, and the new antitrust division chief, Gail Slater, made the decision that there was not enough evidence to do so.
“Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” Richard Fairbank, founder, chairman and CEO of Capital One, said at the time in a press release.
