The Patriot Post® · Number of Banks in Decline

The Wall Street Journal reports, “The number of federally insured institutions nationwide shrank to 6,891 in the third quarter after this summer falling below 7,000 for the first time since federal regulators began keeping track in 1934, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.” At its height, there were more than 18,000 institutions. “[T]he falloff is raising alarms among boosters of community banks, who say such lenders – which represent the vast majority of U.S. banks – are critical to the economy because they are more likely to make small-business loans,” the WSJ explains. Make no mistake: Obama’s ultimate goal is to break the back of free enterprise. The passage of Dodd-Frank in 2010 – a Wall Street “reform” law that places a regulatory stranglehold on the banking sector – will further undermine the financial system.