Market Definition and the Analysis of Antitrust in Banking

Antitrust Bulletin, Vol. 42, No. 973, February 1998

Posted: 25 Feb 1998

See all articles by Myron L. Kwast

Myron L. Kwast

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

John D. Wolken

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Martha Starr

Greylock McKinnon Associates; Independent

Abstract

In antitrust analysis of bank mergers, banking markets are viewed as geographically local, with a "cluster" of products as the relevant product line. This view is criticized as outdated, now that many bank products are offered by non-bank institutions, and financial institutions' operations are increasingly national in scope. This paper reexamines the question of market definition in banking, using two micro data sets uniquely well suited to the task. We find that local depositories remain the dominant supplier of key financial services to households and small businesses, with geographic proximity still important in their institution choice.

JEL Classification: G21, L4

Suggested Citation

Kwast, Myron L. and Wolken, John D. and Starr, Martha and Starr, Martha, Market Definition and the Analysis of Antitrust in Banking. Antitrust Bulletin, Vol. 42, No. 973, February 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=45756

Myron L. Kwast (Contact Author)

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20551
United States
202-452-2909 (Phone)
202-452-3819 (Fax)

John D. Wolken

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ( email )

20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20551
United States
202-452-2503 (Phone)

Martha Starr

Independent

Greylock McKinnon Associates ( email )

1 Memorial Drive, Suite 1410
Cambridge, MA 02142
United States
12025773640 (Phone)

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Abstract Views
1,264
PlumX Metrics