How much will Florida banks consolidate?
Bishop: I think we’re down to close to 7,500 [in the country], with the greater part of that shrinkage of 500 being involuntary [Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.] involvement. Interestingly enough, of that 7,500, we’ve got 20 banks in this country that have about 60 percent of the market. So that leaves 7,480 smaller banks competing for 40 percent. I suggest that we’re going to see continued shrinkage in the number of banks both for FDIC reasons and economic reasons. I don’t know if we’re going to wind up with 6,000 or 5,000 — pick a number — about five years from now. How will consolidation impact the industry? Mason: Consolidation, I do not think, is going to be fantastic for this town. Any big bank here, these are all just branches. As the community banks get fewer and fewer, there are going to be less of them headquartered here or anywhere else. That’s going to hurt the community. Mann: The impact to the community is what I worry about. If you look at your charitable organizations,
