Bernie Sanders is campaigning to become the Democratic nominee for president. One of his positions involves the banking industry. He argues that the banking industry has become too large and powerful at the expense of the consumer. Some economists agree that the banking industry is too concentrated,
Waves of change have swept over financial services throughout the era of deregulation, primarily resulting in an economy skewed toward extraction of value by financial institutions. The financial crisis was actually the culmination of the process of concentration, as Lehman evaporated and Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch were absorbed into JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America respectively. Well over half of all bank assets are now held by just five banks. (U.S. News and World Report, July 2013)
IF the banking industry has become concentrated, what type of market structure do you think it is? Why? Do you think that consumers are hurt?