Capital One's Bid Approved for Discover Acquisition by Regulators

Federal regulators have approved Capital One's purchase of Discover, a deal that will create the largest credit card company in the United States by customers' outstanding balances. Despite objections from consumer advocacy groups concerned about reduced competition and impacts on consumers with lower credit scores, the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency concluded that the market would remain competitive. This decision could spur further mergers within the banking industry. The combined company will leverage Discover's ability to issue credit cards on its own payments network, bypassing intermediaries like Visa and Mastercard.