The recent literature in the field of commercial banking has centered to a considerable extent around the branch banking controversy and bank merger activities, particularly as regards their economic effects on banking structure and performance. Much has been said, moreover, about the effects of branching on the “public interest,” whether such branching is carried out through merger or de novo branching. Public interest is usually defined as including deposit safety, adequate compensation by banks to depositors for the use of their money, availability of credit for borrowers at competitive rates of interest, and, in more general terms, increased competition in banking without sacrificing safety.