Capital One's $35B Discover Deal Faces Antitrust Scrutiny Over Credit Card Market Competition Concerns
• Capital One's $35B acquisition of Discover raises antitrust concerns, with critics warning of less competition and higher fees • Deal faces skepticism from lawmakers like Sen. Warren and consumer advocacy groups about impact on card users • Credit card market already concentrated; top 4 brands see over $10T in purchases and top 30 issuers have 95% of debt • Merger could further limit options and card rewards if brands combined rather than kept separate • Approval process could take a year+ and faces tighter scrutiny from regulators after recent bank mergers collapsed