AN ANALYSIS OF BANK CONSOLIDATION TRENDS IN RURAL PENNSYLVANIA

U.S. banking markets have undergone important structural and institutional changes. Overall, the sector has experienced steady consolidation through mergers and acquisitions that have resulted in fewer banks holding a greater value of the total assets. Despite consolidation, new branch offices and the growth of alternative providers has increased the access to banking-type services. This paper documents and describes trends in the banking industry in Pennsylvania, with special emphasis on rural areas. The first section shows that while the number of "bricks and mortar" offices in the state's rural counties has grown, the distribution of the growth has been quite uneven. As a result, access has potentially declined for some of the state's rural residents. In the second section the analysis shows that consolidation is dramatically reducing the number of banks headquartered in Pennsylvania. The analysis shows that, should current trends continuethe loss of 1.25 banks per quarterthen there will be no banks headquartered in rural Pennsylvania in 2025. Consolidation appears to be having an effect on the competitiveness of rural banking markets. While the analysis suggests that urban county banking markets remain fairly competitive, it also suggests that the state's rural banking markets may have less competition.Financial Economics,

Geographic liberalization and the accessibility of banking services in rural areas

This study assesses the degree to which the liberalization of geographic banking restrictions has lived up to its promise of enhancing service accessibility in rural areas. The empirical framework is distinguished by a focus on changes in accessibility, as opposed to levels. While previous research has produced mixed results on the benefits of greater geographic powers for service accessibility in rural communities, the results reported here point unambiguously to a positive relationship between expansion opportunities and accessibility. Both OLS and ordinallevel probit regressions indicate that geographic banking liberalizations, particularly those leading to greater branching opportunities, have been associated with relatively strong growth in the number of banking offices serving rural areas.Rural areas ; Banks and banking

Changing structure of rural banking markets

Rural areas ; Rural development ; Banks and banking

A new century for community banks

Banks and banking ; Rural development ; Rural areas

Financial Inclusion Through M-Banking Services: Scope and Problems in India

With the help of modern information communication technology, m-banking as a new type of banking services carrier can provide efficient and effective financial services for unbanked and rural peoples in India. Increased cellular service users in rural Indian provide wide opportunity to expand m-banking service in India. However, in spite of opportunities there are numbers of problems and threats in m-banking system. Their major shortcomings are network coverage, security, low cost effectiveness, inconvenience in using mobile handset, IT literacy etc. The outcome of the paper is a defined set of customer requirements to m-banking services in India and an explanation of major failure reasons along with opportunities for their improvement.M-banking, Unbanked, Financial Inclusion

Rural banking in China

This Asia Focus report presents an overview of China’s rural banking system, historical and recent reforms, and additional areas for improvement.Banks and banking - China

Thirty-Three Facts About Philippine Agricultural Credit

This paper is an edited and expanded version of PIDS Staff Paper 87-02. It provides a number of facts and observations regarding agricultural credit, the main source of which is the ongoing program to rehabilitate the rural banks, to re-orient the concept of supervised credit and the creation of the Comprehensive Agricultural Loan Fund. This article also includes the 20-year experience of the Philippines and other selected countries in rural banking and agricultural credit.agriculture sector, banking system, rural sector, credit market

Thirty-Three Facts About Philippine Agricultural Credit

This paper is an edited and expanded version of PIDS Staff Paper 87-02. It provides a number of facts and observations regarding agricultural credit, the main source of which is the ongoing program to rehabilitate the rural banks, to re-orient the concept of supervised credit and the creation of the Comprehensive Agricultural Loan Fund. This article also includes the 20-year experience of the Philippines and other selected countries in rural banking and agricultural credit.agriculture sector, banking system, rural sector, credit market

Rural banking in Africa

Many people in the vast rural areas of Africa lack access to financial services, and most commercial banks are not interested in moving into these areas due to their low income levels, lack of scale economies, and poor infrastructure. Also, few banks actually understand the most common economic activity in rural areas: agriculture. Consequently, the absence of financial institutions in rural Africa has often enticed governments to step in, particularly with state-dominated banks focused on agriculture. Many of these initiatives have failed, however, because they were too bureaucratic, too policy oriented, too concentrated on risk to only one segment of the population, or too weak in customer focus. In addition, clients considered these government-sponsored institutions to be instruments that provided grants; hence, the banks suffered from poor loan-recovery rates. While microfinance institutions have made some inroads into rural Africa with the financial backing of international nongovernmental organizations and other sponsors, their sustainability is questionable. They tend to lack banking licenses and therefore have a very limited product range, and they cannot afford modern technology-based distribution systems.Agricultural development -- Africa, agriculture finance, Farmers, Rabobank, rural banking, supply chain,

Awareness and use of m-banking services in agriculture: The case of smallholder farmers in Kenya

Smallholder farmer access to agricultural finance has been a major constraint to agricultural commercialization in developing countries. The ICT revolution in Africa has however brought an opportunity to ease this constraint. The mobile phone-based banking services that started in Kenya urban centers have spread to rural areas and even other countries. Using these services farmers could receive funds invest in agriculture finance transactions. This study examines the awareness and use of m-banking services among rural farmers in Kenya. It also assesses the factors conditioning the use of such services. The study finds high awareness of m-banking services among the smallholder farmers. It also finds that education, distance to a commercial bank, membership to farmer organizations, distance to the m-banking agents, and endowment with physical and financial assets affect the use of m-banking services. It discusses the implications of these findings for policy and practice.Mobile phones, m-banking services, awareness and use, smallholder farmers, Kenya, Financial Economics,