Sudden consolidation raises questions about regulation, consumer impact

[Dover]

The financial crisis that has been sweeping the globe has reshaped nearly every corner of the economy, but no industry has been altered more radically than banking.

Several of the nation's biggest banks have failed or been absorbed by healthier institutions, leaving three giant "superbanks" with an unprecedented concentration of market power: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

While that may be good news for emerging giants and the failing companies they helped rescue, the new oligopoly raises troubling questions about regulation and competition, analysts and consumer advocates say.

..snip..

Moreover, many analysts worry about how federal and state authorities, who were unable to prevent the current financial industry meltdown, will be able to monitor the new giant banks that combine a wide range of operations from investment banking to consumer lending.

“Large institutions are impossible to manage prudently, let alone regulate,” says Amar Bhide, a professor at the Columbia Business School.

In fact, existing federal banking laws say that no bank can have more than 10 percent of the domestic deposit market — a threshold recently surpassed by all three superbanks.

When asked whether the government would take any action, a Justice Department official was noncommittal.

“It’s always something we’ve looked at and will continue to look at," said spokeswoman Gina Talamona. "It’s something we’ve looked at as part of our general antitrust review.” ..>

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27441147


And they've been trying to convince us they are NATIONALIZING the banks? HA!

[Dover]

1. The nation's top three banks now control more than 32 percent of U.S. deposits,

more than the top five controlled a year ago.

Bank of America Corp. $719.8 billion 11.3 percent
2 Wells Fargo & Co. $711.5 billion 11.2 percent
3 JPMorgan Chase $649.3 billion 10.2 percent
4 Citigroup Inc. $223.6 billion 3.5 percent
5 PNC Financial Services $179.8 billion 2.8 percent


In fact, existing federal banking laws say that no bank can have more than 10 percent of the domestic deposit market — a threshold recently surpassed by all three superbanks.