Do big banks fight over territories?Do big banks tell each other to back off their territories? I go visit my parents in SC/NC and i have to remember to carry cash from GA. The reason why is because i can not find a single Chase branch or ATM in the entire state of NC or SC and i refuse to pay ATM fees not because I'm broke but out of... |
No they do not. That would be a violation of federal antitrust laws. Chase has just made a decision that makes financial sense to them. Namely, that it is not worth the significant investment in bank branches and an ATM network in a state where there is already a dominant competitor. Big investment with likely a minimal return on investment.
There are several states where they do not have a presence. TN, GA, MS, NM, ME, VT, NH to name a few.
You're kind of naiive, too.
Bank regulations vary from state to state. It's really just a question of whether or not they feel that they have enough of a customer base available to have it be worth the trouble. Chase just opened their 1000th branch in San Jose, CA -- a state where BofA originally was established as the Bank of Italy. Where's your big dog theory now, I wonder?
It's just cheaper for a bank - any bank - to allow their traveling customers to have access to their money by connecting through a common network, at a nominal fee. The non-traveling customers don't need that service, and don't want to pay for it; the fee is correctly assessed at point of use.
