Structure of depository instructions.(Brief Article)

Passage of the 1994 Reigle-Neal interstate banking legislation spurred consolidation of depository institutions. The total number of FDIC-insured commercial banks declined from 14,417 at the end of 1985 to 8,149 in 2001. However, the total number of banking offices (the sum of the number of banks and their branches) increased more than 23% over the same period from 59,080 to 72,440.

The number of insured savings institutions in the U.S. declined by more than half from a peak of 3,626 in 1985 to 1,552 in 2001. The number of savings institution offices also fell by 45% from their peak of 25,515 in 1987 to 14,076 in 2001. But these effects imply an increase in the number …