Capital One's $35.3B Discover Deal Would Be Fifth-Largest Bank Merger in US History

Group 1: Acquisition Overview - Capital One announced its plan to acquire Discover Financial Services for 35.3 billion, which would be the fifth-largest deal in U.S. bank M&A history if approved [1][6] - Discover's shares surged over 12% following the announcement of the acquisition [1] Group 2: Historical Context of Major Bank M&A Deals - JPMorgan Chase's acquisition of Bank One in 2004 remains the largest U.S. bank deal at 56.88 billion [2] - Bank of America purchased FleetBoston Financial for $47.69 billion in 2004, expanding its presence in the Northeast [3] - NationsBank merged with Bank of America in a$43.09 billion deal in 1998, creating the largest commercial banking organization in the U.S. at that time [4] - The merger of Citicorp and Travelers Insurance Group in 1998 created Citigroup in a $36.03 billion deal [5] Group 3: Market Implications - Analysts suggest that Capital One's acquisition of Discover could potentially create the largest consumer credit card issuer by loans outstanding [7] - Regulatory concerns may arise due to recent events in other industries, but the competitive nature of the card market makes the combination appear reasonable [7]