In the case of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System v. First Lincolnwood Corp., 1978, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a bank holding company's acquisition of additional banks could be denied by federal regulators if it was found to have potential anti-competitive effects. The court held that under Section 3(c) (1) and (2) of the Bank Holding Company Act, which prohibits acquisitions resulting in monopoly or restraining competition unless public benefits outweigh anticompetitive threats, regulators can consider competitive factors beyond those typically considered in an antitrust analysis when reviewing proposed bank mergers. In this particular case, First Lincolnwood Corporation sought to acquire another banking institution but faced opposition from the Federal Reserve Board due to concerns about reduced competition within local banking markets.

In the dissenting opinion for Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System v. First Lincolnwood Corp., Justice Rehnquist argued that the majority's interpretation of Section 3(c)(1) was too broad and inconsistent with its legislative history. He contended that Congress intended to limit bank holding companies' nonbanking activities, not their banking ones. The majority's decision effectively gave the Board power to regulate any acquisition by a bank holding company, regardless if it involved banking or nonbanking entities - an authority he believed Congress did not intend to grant. Furthermore, he criticized the Court’s reliance on policy arguments about potential risks associated with such acquisitions rather than focusing on statutory language and intent. In his view, these concerns should be addressed by legislators through amendments in law instead of judicial interpretations.