Capital One offers $265B benefit plan to appease regulators for its planned purchase of Discover

abcnews.go.com:

Capital One said Wednesday it plans to offer $265 billion in lending, investing and philanthropy projects as part of its $35 billion merger with Discover Financial

NEW YORK — Capital One said Wednesday it plans to offer $265 billion in lending, investing and philanthropy projects as part of its pending $35 billion merger with Discover Financial. The plan is designed to appease federal bank regulators, who have been initially skeptical of approving the merger, which would create the world's largest credit card company if it goes through.

The five-year, $265 billion community benefit plan consists of several initiatives by Capital One, including a plan to lend $200 billion to low- and middle-income consumers, $44 billion in community development work and hundreds of millions of dollars to nonprofits, small businesses and minority-owned financial institutions.

Announced back in February, Capital One said it plans to buy and merge with Discover Financial Services, which will create the seventh-largest bank in the country as well as the largest credit card company. Capital One would also acquire Discover's payment network, a rare asset.

The Biden Administration has not weighed in on the Capital One-Discover merger specifically yet, but some of the major bank regulators and Democratic politicians have made public comments that large bank mergers — those over $100 billion like this deal — should be given extra scrutiny. Other non-bank mergers have also received increased scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice.

Further several community and consumer groups have expressed concern or alarm about the size of the merged company, feeling it might reduce competition, and how much exposure a combined