US Needs More Bank M&A. Somebody Pick Up the Phone.
Deal activity among regional lenders has been lackluster in large part because of so-called social issues. Put more simply, few want to give up control.
The logic for being bigger is apparent in the banking industry as long as someone else is selling.
Photographer: FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images
The US has too many banks, particularly regional ones. There are historical reasons for this, not least of which were laws that at one time prohibited lenders from operating out of more than one building. While obstacles to consolidation have dropped over time, deal activity has been lackluster in large part because of so-called social issues. Put more simply, few want to give up control.
Deals that don’t get done for nonfinancial reasons are difficult to quantify, but troubles facing the nation’s regional lenders have offered a useful reminder about the dangers of too much personality at the top.