PBN Staff
Bank of America and FleetBoston Financial have cleared another hurdle on the way to finalizing Bank of America’s $44 billion acquisition.
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On Dec. 17, the U.S. Department of Justice granted the entities early termination. The decision means the justice department has completed antitrust review of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America and Boston-based Fleet and ended the waiting period for the companies to finalize the transaction. Under early termination review were the non-banking pieces of the two firms – including securities and insurance, according to a justice department spokesperson.
“We are very pleased with the decision,” said Scott Scredon, spokesperson for Bank of America.
The companies would like to complete the merger by April.
While the justice department granted the termination, the official notice was posted on the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site.
The next step in finalizing the merger is for the justice department to complete a competitive-factors report on the two companies’ banking sections. A copy of the finished report will then be forwarded to the Federal Reserve Bank. The Fed’s governors will use the report as part of their final decision to either approve or reject the merger.
According to the Federal Reserve, the public comment period on the merger expired on Dec. 19. Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation, including senators Edward Kennedy and John Kerry, wrote to the Federal Reserve Board requesting a public hearing.
According to a Fed spokesperson, no decision has been made as to if the hearing will be granted. The letter, which was described as ‘fairly general,’ asks for a hearing on the proposed acquisition be held in January in Boston. Public meetings are held when material issues of fact cannot be resolved by written comments, according to the Fed spokesperson.
