I think that it is fair to say that the American banking system is currently in the midst of the most significant consolidation in its history. As I mentioned earlier, in the last two decades nearly all of the traditional barriers to geographic expansion of U.S. banks have crumbled.
While the states took the lead in eliminating these barriers beginning in the late 1970s, the final step was taken by the federal government with passage of the Riegle-Neal Act in 1994. Under this Act, virtually full interstate branch banking became possible in June 1997.