THE INTERSTATE BANKING LANDSCAPE: LEGISLATIVE POLICIES AND RATIONALE

Larry A. Frieder

Contemporary Economic Policy, 1988, vol. 6, issue 2, 41-66

Abstract: Expansion across state boundaries has been the dominant change in the structural landscape of banking. Forty‐one states and the District of Columbia now permit full‐service interstate banking. This paper reviews and analyzes these laws and their related provisions. Geographical liberalization is found to be mostly pro‐competitive. Regional reciprocity statutes dominated the interstate banking landscape until mid‐1985. Of the first 18 laws, 12 were regional. However, the regional approach peaked quickly, and most remaining states enacted nationwide laws—either immediate nationwide bills or regional bills that “trigger” to the nationwide level at a certain date. Presently, 27 of the 42 laws are nationwide. At least 9 states that initially selected regional laws are soon expected to switch to a nationwide approach. Regional banking compacts seemed inherently unstable and difficult to establish. Only the Southeast successfully established a stable regional banking zone. The location of control over the nation's banking assets is being restructured. In some states with well‐capitalized holding companies aggressively exploiting the new laws, banks have grown in size. Other states that were slow to pass legislation, or whose banks are in no financial position to make acquisitions, have lost rank. After a relatively short time, the federal government finally may legislate on the interstate banking issue. Pressure to do so would derive from the different banking structures and regions, problematic competitive dimensions, banks' supervision and regulation necessities, and eventual interstate branching proposals.

Date: 1988
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