The continued heavy dependence of small businesses on local banks also suggests an on-going need for bank supervisors to be sensitive to antitrust issues when considering mergers and acquisitions of banks in the same local market. In contrast, cross-market mergers rarely raise antitrust concerns; indeed, such mergers can be quite pro-competitive.
Finally, while some observers have argued that banking consolidation and other aspects of the modernization of the banking industry and financial markets raise concerns about the supply of credit to small business, the market for small business loans in fact seems to work rather well.