Capital One's $35.3B Discover Deal Would Be Fifth-Largest Bank Merger in US History (2024)

Discover Financial Services (DFS) shares surged over 12% Tuesday after Capital One (COF) announced it will acquire Discover in a $35.3 billion deal. If approved, Capital One's acquisition of Discover would be the fifth-largest deal ever between U.S. banks in history.

Here's a look at some of the largest U.S. bank M&A deals to date.

1. JPMorgan's Acquisition of Bank One

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) acquired Bank One in a deal valued at $56.88 billion that closed in July 2004, according to figures from Dealogic. The Bank One acquisition made JPMorgan the largest U.S. bank by consolidated assets.

After the merger, former Bank One CEO Jamie Dimon became JPMorgan's Chief Operating Officer (COO), and in 2006, Dimon became JPMorgan's CEO, a position he still holds.

2. Bank of America's Purchase of FleetBoston Financial

Bank of America (BAC) bought FleetBoston Financial in 2004. The acquisition, which was valued at $47.69 billion, was completed in April of 2004. At the time of the acquisition, Bank of America was the second-largest bank in the U.S.

With the merger, FleetBoston branches were rebranded to Bank of America locations, expanding the bank's presence in the Northeast.

3. NationsBank's Merger With Bank of America

NationsBank merged with Bank of America in a $43.09 billion deal that closed on Sept. 30, 1998. The transaction created the largest commercial banking organization in the U.S. at the time and the third largest in the world.

"The bank was a classic market extension merger since NationsBank's operations focused generally on the east coast and south and Bank of America was largely on the west coast," the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice said.

4. Travelers Group and Citicorp Consolidation

Citicorp and Travelers Insurance Group merged in a $36.03 billion deal in 1998 to create Citigroup (C), and Citigroup shares began trading in October of 1998.

Citi said the merger came as the two financial services giants saw the potential in a strategic merger.

5. Capital One To Acquire Discover Financial

Capital One announced its plans to acquire Discover on Feb. 19. If completed, the $35.3 billion deal would be the fifth-largest U.S. bank M&A.

"Capital One's acquisition of Discover would potentially create the largest consumer credit card issuer by loans outstanding," Bank of America analysts wrote.

William Blair analysts noted that "given recent events in other industries, regulatory concerns will likely linger, but the card market is very competitive, and as a percentage of U.S. credit card purchase volume, the combination appears reasonable."

6. Wells Fargo and Norwest Merger

Wells Fargo(WFC) merged with Norwest in a $31.74 billion deal that closed in October of 1998.

The bank was required to divest several Nevada and Arizona branches to comply with competition concerns and kept the Wells Fargo name. "The name of the resulting institution came into play in determining which branches to accept for divestiture," the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice said.

The deal "created the Western Hemisphere’s most extensive and diversified financial services network," Stanford researchers said.

7. BB&T Merges With SunTrust

BB&T and SunTrust became Truist Financial (TFC) in a $31.58 billion deal that closed on Dec. 6, 2019. Truist was the seventh-largest commercial bank in the U.S. by consolidated assets as of the end of 2023.

8. J.P. Morgan and Chase Manhattan Merger

J.P. Morgan merged with Chase Manhattan in 2000 to become JPMorgan Chase in a $29.49 billion deal. Since the merger, JPMorgan Chase has grown to be the largest U.S. bank by assets, according to Federal Reserve data.

9. Wachovia's Golden West Acquisition

Wachovia acquired Golden West in a $25.28 billion deal that closed in October of 2006, expanding the bank's presence in the Western U.S.

The bank was later acquired by Wells Fargo in 2008 in a sale assisted by the U.S government to prevent Wachovia from joining others in bank failure during the financial crisis of 2008.

10. Firstar and U.S. Bancorp Merger

Firstar acquired U.S. Bancorp in 2000, merging into U.S. Bancorp (UBS) through a $22.02 billion deal. UBS was the fifth-largest commercial bank in the U.S. at the end of 2023, according to the Federal Reserve Board.