![handle is hein.journals/depbcl15 and id is 1 raw text is:
The Centralization of the Banking Industry:
Dodd-Frank's Impact on Community Banks and
the Need for Both Regulatory Relief and
an Overhaul of the Current Framework
Bryce W. Newell*
I. INTRODUCTION
The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-
Frank Act or Dodd-Frank)1 has a number of controversial and dis-
puted features. Nonetheless, Dodd-Frank's purpose is, [t]o promote
the financial stability of the United States by improving accountability
and transparency in the financial system, to end 'too big to fail,' to
protect the American taxpayer by ending bailouts, to protect consum-
ers from abusive financial services practices, and for other purposes.2
Thus, one of the central purposes of Dodd-Frank is to end the banking
industry's too big to fail banks in order to protect taxpayers from
bailing out these big banks. This objective has been approached
through a massive increase in regulatory oversight of the entire bank-
ing industry, including small and local commercial banks. Yet, since
2010, when Dodd-Frank was introduced, the five biggest banks in
America have grown in market share.3
In December 2012, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) commissioned a study on community banking.4 This study de-
fined community banks based on criteria related to traditional lend-
ing and deposit gathering activities and limited geographic scope.5
At the end of 2010, 94% of all banking organizations fit this defini-
tion, but, as of 2011, community banks held [only 14%] of banking
* Mr. Newell graduated Cum Laude from DePaul University College of Law. Prior to that
Mr. Newell graduated Magna Cum Laude at DePaul University, majoring in Finance and Philos-
ophy. Mr. Newell lives in New York City with his wife and son. He is an Associate in the
Consumer Financial Services Group at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP.
1. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124
Stat. 1376 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 5, 7, 12, 15, 26, 28, 31, 42 U.S.C.).
2. Id. pmbl. (emphasis added).
3. Jeff Cox, 5 Biggest Banks Now Own Almost Half the Industry, CNBC (Apr. 15, 2015, 2:33
PM), http://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/15/5-biggest-banks-now-own-almost-half-the-industry.html.
4. FED. DEPOSIT INS. CORP., FDIC COMMUNITY BANKING STUDY (Dec. 2012), https://www
.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/cbi/report/cbi-full.pdf.
5. Id. at I.
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/depbcl15&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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