As part of the 1994 Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act, Congress established state-level deposit caps that prohibited banks from amassing, through mergers and acquisitions, more than 30 percent of the deposits in any state (a national deposit cap of 10 percent was also adopted).
The law gave each state the authority to raise or lower its own cap, or to abolish it altogether. In the first few years after the law passed, only a few states opted to raise or lower their caps, and just two, Michigan and Utah, decided to abolish the limit altogether.
But, during the last ten years, more than 15 states, often at the behest of banking industry lobbyists, eliminated their deposit caps. In many instances, these bills passed with no mention in local media or any public discussion. Several other states raised the allowable share, while just two, Kentucky and New Mexico, lowered their caps.
State deposit share caps (data was supplied by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors; blanks indicate that the cap was repealed in that state):
1998 | 2008 | |
---|---|---|
Alabama | 30% | 30% |
Alaska | 30% | 50% |
Arizona | 30% | 30% |
Arkansas | 25% | 25% |
California | 30% | |
Colorado | 25% | 25% |
Connecticut | 30% | 30% |
Delaware | 30% | |
District of Columbia | 30% | |
Florida | 30% | |
Georgia | 30% | 30% |
Hawaii | 30% | |
Idaho | 30% | |
Illinois | 30% | |
Indiana | 30% | |
Iowa | 10% | 15% |
Kansas | 15% | 15% |
Kentucky | 30% | 15% |
Louisiana | 30% | |
Maine | 30% | 30% |
Maryland | 30% | 30% |
Massachusetts | 28% | 30% |
Michigan | ||
Minnesota | 30% | |
Mississippi | 25% | 25% |
Missouri | 13% | 13% |
Montana | 22% | 22% |
Nebraska | 14% | 22% |
Nevada | 30% | |
New Hampshire | 20% | 30% |
New Jersey | 30% | 30% |
New Mexico | 40% | 30% |
New York | 30% | |
North Carolina | 30% | |
North Dakota | 25% | 25% |
Ohio | 20% | 30% |
Oklahoma | 12.25% | 20% |
Oregon | 30% | |
Pennsylvania | 30% | |
Rhode Island | 30% | |
South Carolina | 30% | 30% |
South Dakota | 30% | |
Tennessee | 30% | 30% |
Texas | 20% | 20% |
Utah | ||
Vermont | 30% | 30% |
Virginia | 30% | |
Washington | 30% | 30% |
West Virginia | 25% | 25% |
Wisconsin | 30% | 30% |
Wyoming | 30% | 30% |