Small businesses heavily rely on banks for funding, and community banks, those with less than $ billion in assets, account for a disproportionate share of bank lending to small businesses. But across the country, the number of community banks has fallen by half over the past 20 years, mostly due to consolidation.
This fall has been slightly larger in the West than the East, but the reason I highlight this trend is that I believe it has significant consequences for rural communities in the West. The reason returns me to that map I showed earlier.