... viewed as foreign, and most states strictly forbid entry by banks from other states until the mid-1970s Even banks from other cities within a state were often blocked from opening branches in other ... resulting from foreign bank entry has been associated with more or less business cycle volatility We approach the topic with mix of theory and evidence from both the U.S states and countries ... López-de-Silanes, and Shleifer, 2002) Bank privatization has been held up, in part, by fear of foreign bankers who, in many cases, are the only, or most likely, buyers In the United States, banks from other states...