In 1980, before geographic deregulation, the high-profit share of assets in the sixteen unitbanking states (those that did not permit any form of branching) was much less than the high-profit share in the twelve states that have permitted branching since the 1930s or earlier. This difference disappears completely by 1994.
By then, the unit-banking states had permitted within-state branching, thus allowing more-profitable banks to dominate the industry. The real economic effect of geographic deregulation beyond banking The consequences of a more efficient banking system can go beyond the banking industry to affect the real performance of the economy as a whole.