On April 30, 2015, the US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released its Semiannual Report on Banking Applications Activity. The report delivers aggregate information on applications submitted by bank holding companies, state member banks, savings and loan holding companies, foreign banking organizations, and other entities and individuals for approval to undertake various transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, and engaging in new activities.
The latest report covers the period from July 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. During that period, 681 proposals were reviewed, of which 629 were approved and 52 were withdrawn. Among other things, the report noted that merger and acquisition proposals are generally more complex than other proposals. The average and median number of days to approve such an application is 60 and 41 days, respectively, but the average number of days to approve an application that receives adverse public comments is 206 days.
The latest Semiannual Report on Banking Applications Activity is available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/201504-semiannual-report-on-banking-applications-activity.pdf.
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