Interstate Banking and the Relocation of Economic Control Points

This paper examines the geographic shifts in the corporate control of banking which have resulted from interstate acquisitions between 1982 and mid-year 1986. Ninety-nine transactions during the study period have resulted in the interstate transfer of corporate control of $88 billion in assets. In the Southeast, North Carolina and Georgia banks have gained control of assets at the expense of the banking industry in Florida and South Carolina. Within the New England region, Massachusetts banks have made major acquisitions in neighboring states. In the West, California banks have been active with acquisitions in Arizona and Washington. The pattern of acquisitions has been influenced not only by the geographyof interstate banking legislation but also by the relative size of banks. The roles of Atlanta, Charlotte, Boston, and Los Angeles as regional money centers have been expanded because of interstate banking acquisitions.