Noted: James Johannes, professor of finance and director of the Puelicher Center for Banking Education at UW-Madison, says there are three forces driving mergers: an easing of government regulations, a search for better efficiency, and a drop in profitability for banks. He says in the past 15 years, the U.S. has gone from 14-thousand banks to just 6-thousand. A more efficient operation saves money and more assets means more profit.
Office of Strategic Communication