We knew everyone at the bank from the president on down. We played with their kids. But a number of banks has been in steady decline for the past dozen years. Mergers and acquisitions are slashing the total number of banks in America at an annual rate of 5 percent. Although the mega-mergers capture the headlines, consolidation among small banks actually accounts for the lion's share of bank closures.
Banks can control risks by diversifying their operations across geographic regions.
Actually, things are not as dire as one might expect, according to Bob McGoffin, executive vice president of Riverside Bank in Ft. Pierce, Fla., and professor at the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University. Sure, it's a little intimidating to see the size of some of those opposing teams. But the light, swift independent bank still has plenty of room to run successful end sweeps. We don't have many areas that we can say that against the great big banks.