Market Share Cap — State Deposit Caps

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deposit share caps (data was supplied by the Conference of State Bank Supervisors; blanks indicate that the cap was repealed in that state):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%