Bank for International Settlements working paper proposes new metrics and remedies for consumer data in non-horizontal mergers

The Bank for International Settlements published a working paper examining how non-horizontal mergers involving extensive consumer data, including consumer financial data, can create market power and competitive harm in ways that traditional antitrust analysis may not fully capture. The paper proposes new metrics to value and compare merged datasets and outlines potential tools for competition authorities to mitigate anti-competitive effects while preserving the benefits of data-driven integration. Using payments-sector deal patterns and selected merger cases from the United States and European Union as context, the paper describes potential effects of data-rich mergers ranging from improved products and financial inclusion to price discrimination, foreclosure, impediments to innovation and privacy externalities. It argues that standard merger metrics designed for horizontal consolidation are often ill-suited to assessing data combinations across markets, and proposes indicators focused on data complementarity and scale, including whether the combined dataset is worth more than the sum of its parts, the share of the population covered, and the overlap of the same consumers across datasets. Potential mitigation tools discussed include enhanced access for authorities to assess datasets under strict safeguards, post-merger data segregation or divestitures in some cases, and stronger consumer data portability. The paper is described as a draft, with a final version forthcoming in the Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law.