Source: Independent Institute
by William F Shughart II
“Since at least the Great Depression, which witnessed the bankruptcy of thousands of small banks nationwide, the Federal Reserve System has been expanding its regulatory control of America’s financial institutions inexorably. State-chartered banks have been displaced by federally chartered national banks; small community banks have been forced out of business or thrust into the arms of their larger rivals by the costs of complying with one-size-fits-all rules to detect and deter money-laundering by globe-spanning drug cartels and terrorist organizations. The result is a steady consolidation of the financial services industry into fewer and larger institutions, with a narrowing of choices for banking customers.” (05/11/23)
https://blog.independent.org/2023/05/11/fed-first-republic-bank/