By John McGory
The big banks in central Ohio keep getting bigger, according to the recently released Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) 2011 deposit share report. This concentration of financial power will only continue to hurt real estate and small business expansion, says the Real Estate Swami.
The top five banks in the Columbus metropolitan area increased market share from 72.28 percent in 2010 to 76.13 percent in 2011. That is a robust increase considering the third largest bank, PNC, lost over three percent of market share.
Huntington Bank and Chase Bank solidified their number one and two positions. The two banks combined for a 5.15 percent increase in central Ohio market share. This came at the expense of PNC, Key Bank and smaller institutions.
Central Ohio banks that increased market share were: Huntington, Chase, Fifth Third, Nationwide, Park National and Union Savings. Central Ohio banks that saw a reduction in market share included: PNC, Key Bank, US Bank, Wesbanco, Delaware County Bank and Heartland.
Here is a chart showing the changes in market share from 2010 to 2011.
Bank 2010 2011
1. Huntington 21.82 24.12
2. Chase 19.27 22.12
3. PNC 16.12 12.99
4. Fifth Third 8.80 9.44
5. Nationwide 6.81 7.46
6. Key Bank 4.37 3.78
7. Park National 4.19 4.39
8. US Bank 2.83 2.48
9. Wesbanco 1.28 1.18
10. Delaware Cty 1.27 1.11
11. Heartland 1.10 1.09
12. Union Savings .93 1.00
The Real Estate Swami sees that the wailing and gnashing of teeth over large financial institutions bailouts several years ago did not translate into fewer customers for the large banks. The banks’ higher fees and poor public relations were offset by convenient locations, new apps that young customers want and aggressive advertising that appeals to younger customers.
The Swami does predict that large banks will face increasing pressure to loosen lending practices as we head into 2012.
“The message from the Occupy Wall Street movement is that the rich get richer in the financial and banking industry, while the middle class suffers,” says the Swami. “The increase in market share profit allows large financial institutions to continue tight-fisted lending policies for home buyers and small businesses.
“This simmering cauldron of financial discontent may well boil over as we head into the 2012 presidential election,” warns the Swami.
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