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Article: Big Dogs and Small Dogs Duking it Out: Community banks take it on the chin as last year saw the most bank busts in a decade; still, more growth nationwide is coming from local players and big banks are struggling with focus.
- Article from:
- US Banker
- Article date:
- March 1, 2003
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Rivalry is set to get even more intense between big and small in banking.
Community banks drove most of the deposit growth in the industry last year. But large banks are turning around from merger slumps and cleaning up service issues to reclaim traditional retail banking for their own.
Last year saw the most bank failures since 1994; eight of the total 11 had assets under $100 million. Startup banks look to number among the lowest in nearly a decade, with 66 in the first three quarters of last year-fourth quarter numbers weren't available at press time. Startups have been declining steadily since 1999, when they reached a decade-long high of 269. ...