• Share
  • Print
    • Text Size
    • Smaller
    • Larger
CFL cover
On This Page
June, No. 10

Credit card loans at commercial banks in the United States increased by $72.4 billion from 1980 to 1987. Just two states accounted for half of that increase—Delaware for $25.0 billion and South Dakota for $12.3 billion.

Last Updated: 06/30/1988

Small States Teach a Big Banking Lesson

Jack L. Hervey

The remarkable performance by two small states—both are well under a million in population—is largely the result of legislation by the states themselves. The strategy has been to legislatively encourage bank holding companies from other states to establish subsidiaries in new and commercially attractive surroundings, bringing with them new jobs and higher tax receipts for South Dakota and Delaware.