Banks appeared as a result of all the consolidation. Back in the 1990s, for instance, you had Fleet, Bank of Boston, Shawmut, BayBank and Bank of New England all on corners around RI. Every single one of those institutions is now Bank of America. Citizens filled the vacuum to an extent, Chase is launching a major market entry, and smaller banks and credit unions have come back to challenge B of A for share.

But we likely have fewer bank branches and choices in banking than our parents in the area had.