The American Bankers Association last week withdrew its old, vociferous objection to branchbanking and thereby partially relieved itself of a false front.
During the past decade there has been one trend in U. S. banking more pronounced than all others combined: the trend to merge, to branch, to group, all of which is essentially one trend, and all of which is exactly and naturally parallel to the developments in U. S. industry, commerce, society (FORTUNE, February). But Federal laws have opposed this trend and so, verbally, has the A. B. A.
Actually, nearly all the most potent members of the A. B. A. have been merging, branching, grouping as fast as they could. Actually the "small" bankers have been selling out to big-bank groups about as soon as they could get good offers. Then why the verbal opposition?