Under the Bank Merger Act (12 U.S.C. 1828(c)), a Federal Banking agency receiving a merger application must request the views of the other two banking agencies and the Department of Justice on the competitive factors involved. Standard descriptive terms are used by the Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Comptroller of the Currency. The terms and their definitions are as follows:

(a) The term monopoly means that the proposed transaction must be disapproved in accordance with 12 U.S.C. 1828(c)(5)(A).

(b) The term substantially adverse means that the proposed transaction would have anticompetitive effects which preclude approval unless the anticompetitive effects are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served as specified in 12 U.S.C. 1828(c)(5)(B).

(c) The term adverse means that proposed transaction would have anticompetitive effects which would be material to the decision but which would not preclude approval.

(d) The term no significant effect means that the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction, if any, would not be material to the decision.