In decisions issued on July 19 and July 21, 2015, respectively, the Federal Reserve and the OCC approved applications by CIT to acquire OneWest Bank and to merge CIT Bank into OneWest Bank, which will operate under the name CIT Bank, National Association following the merger. OneWest Bank was established upon its acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of the failed IndyMac Bank in 2009. Each of the merging banks has approximately $15 billion in deposits, and the merged bank will have approximately $44 billion in total assets, making this one of the larger recent bank merger approvals. The applications were the subject of thousands of public comments, many of them in favor of the application. The regulators also held a public meeting on the application, which is relatively uncommon. In approving the applications, the regulators considered numerous facts, including compensation practices, AML systems, and risks to US financial stability (including factors that might complicate resolution of the firm). The regulators also undertook an extensive review of factors under the Community Reinvestment Act and other considerations regarding the convenience and needs of the communities served by the banks. In connection with its approval, the OCC is subjecting OneWest Bank to its "Heightened Standards" for risk management, even though those standards typically apply only to banks with $50 billion or more in consolidated assets. The OCC is also requiring OneWest Bank to develop a comprehensive business plan and prepare quarterly reports on compliance with that plan.
FRB Order No. 2015-20 is available at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/orders/orders20150721a1.pdf
The OCC letter of approval is available at: http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2015/nr-occ-2015-105a.pdf
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