[...]Our analysis suggests that much of the efficiencyimprovement brought about by branching was attributable to a selection process whereby better performing banksexpanded at the expense of poorer performers. It appears thatthe branching restrictions acted as a ceiling on the size...

When the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act went into effect in June 1997, it marked the final stage of a quarter-century-long effort to relax geographic restrictions on banks. This article examines an earlier stage of the deregulatory process-the actions taken by the...

The consolidation rate in the Federal Reserve's Second District banking markets generally outpaced the national average between 1989 and 1994. Nevertheless, these banking markets remain relatively unconcentrated, with midsized banks increasing their market share at the expense of large banks.

Following the investment-cash flow literature, we test whether bank lending is constrained by the availability of insured deposits--a necessary condition for the existence of bank lending channel of monetary policy. We treat insured deposits as a type of "internal fund," similar to cash flows....