Capital One is the latest bank accused of being “too big to fail.”
A proposed $9.2 billion purchase of the online bank ING Direct would make Capital One the fifth-largest bank in the United States with more than $200 billion in deposits.
But before this acquisition can be completed, it requires clearance from the Federal Reserve, Capital One’s chief regulator. The Dodd-Frank Act requires that the Federal Reserve weigh the systemic risk of the combined company. If the risk outweighs the benefits of the transaction, the deal must be blocked.
