Capital One’s proposed merger with Discover would be a disaster for low- and moderate-income communities.

The reality behind Capital One’s shiny marketing is ugly: They carefully identify vulnerable people who are likely to get trapped in debt, then offer them credit cards to harvest interest payments on balances that the cardholders are less likely to fully pay off. Capital One hunts for their profits in the same streets and neighborhoods where NCRC members work to reverse the wealth-denying consequences of decades of discrimination and disinvestment.

The merger would also make Capital One the sixth largest bank in the country, greatly increasing risks to the entire financial system in the event of an economic downturn given their limited business model dependent on credit cards and auto loans. Capital One’s merger history, and repeat violations, cast further doubt on how this deal could possibly meet the requirement that mergers benefit the public