Bank Consolidation

"I don't get it. Why get smaller and wrestle a small guy? Why not get bigger and wrestle a big guy?"
--Carla (Vision Quest)

Nice portrayal of consolidation in the banking industry over the past 20 years. Trip down memory lane with some of those names.

Let's be clear. This pattern on consolidation is unnatural and has been facilitated by the State. Sometimes directly, such as the forced mergers in the wake of the credit market meltdown. Sometimes indirectly, such as low interest rate financing available to institutions courtesy of the Fed.

When certain presidential candidates claim that they want to break up the 'big banks,' they claim to want to undo their own creation--a dubious claim. Why?  Because statists seek (and require) ever more concentrated control over banking functions.