Senate Testimony: Concentration is at the Root of Rural Distress

Katy Milani

April 27, 2021

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs invited Co-Director Stacy Mitchell to testify at its April 20th hearing on the state of the rural economy. Stacy spoke on why rural America is in crisis and attributed the widening gap between struggling rural towns and coastal supercities to the concentration of corporate and financial power.  READ MORE

Our Guide Gives State and Local Leaders Tools to Fight Corporate Monopolies

Jess Del Fiacco

July 15, 2020

As state and local leaders grapple with how to create a true recovery — one that lifts wages, fosters small businesses, and rebalances power — combating outsized corporate power is a key strategy. Check out ILSR's guide to antimonopoly policies for states and cities.  READ MORE

Report: Fewer Small Businesses are Receiving Federal Relief Loans in States Dominated by Big Banks

Stacy Mitchell

April 29, 2020

A significantly larger number of federal relief loans are reaching small businesses in states where small, local banks comprise a greater share of the market, compared to states where big banks are more dominant, an ILSR analysis has found.  READ MORE

Distribution of Credit Card Loans by Banks Size, 1994-2018

Published by: ILSR

May 15th, 2019

Credit card lending has seen major growth in the past decades. With that growth has come almost unparalleled concentration. Today, about half of all credit cards are issued by giant banks, who also dominate the amount of total credit extended. That[...]

Number of New Banks Created by Year, 1993 to 2018

Published by: ILSR

May 14th, 2019

The number of community banks has declined sharply in the last decade. A significant share of the decline is owed to the fact that virtually no new banks have been created since 2009. Between 2004 and 2008, before the financial[...]

Share of Deposits by Size of Institution, 1994 to 2018

Published by: ILSR

May 14th, 2019

In 1994, giant banks, defined as those with over $100.2 million assets in 2018 dollars, held only a small portion of U.S. deposits. Today, they control 53 percent of the market, while small and mid-sized banks and credit unions have[...]

Jess Del Fiacco

September 30, 2021

"As community and local financial institutions disappear or merge with larger banks, more entrepreneurs and business owners are struggling to obtain the capital they need to start and grow their businesses," said ILSR's Stacy Mitchell.  READ MORE

Charlie Thaxton

April 3, 2019

In Fortune, we detail the growing cashless retail trend, steps cities and states are taking to regulate it, and the ultimate effect monopoly credit card companies like Visa and Mastercard have on small businesses and the economy at large.  READ MORE

Stacy Mitchell

September 1, 2015

North Dakota has a different kind of banking sector than the rest of the country does, with six times as many locally owned financial institutions per person as the rest of the U.S., and local institutions controlling 83 percent of  READ MORE

Stacy Mitchell

May 5, 2015

The precipitous decline in the number of community banks in recent years is a national crisis, and there's a fierce debate underway right now about what's to blame.  READ MORE