Section 32: Mergers

32. Mergers (1) No financial institution shall merge or consolidate with any other financial institution or acquire, either directly or indirectly, the assets of, or assume liability to pay any deposit made in, any other financial institution except with the prior approval of the central bank. (2) Any financial institution which proposes any merger, consolidation, acquisition or assumption of liability, under subsection (1) shall give 30 days’ prior notice to the central bank. (3) On receipt of a notice under subsection (2), the central bank shall take into consideration the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the existing and proposed financial institutions, and the convenience and needs of the public. (4) The central bank shall not approve a proposed transaction referred to in subsection (2) where the proposed transaction would result in a monopoly or substantially lessen competition unless it finds that the anti-competitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the public.