Antitrust and Trade Regulation Commons^™

Legislation, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

In United States v. Philadelphia Nat'l Bank,' the Supreme Court enjoined a proposed merger of the second and third largest commercial banks in Philadelphia. The Court held, inter alia, that section 7 of the Clayton Act 2 applied to bank mergers, and that the merger in question might substantially lessen competition. Central to the reasoning of the majority was the premise that an unchecked trend toward concentration of market power in commercial banking is contrary to the public interest in maintaining competition among existing commercial banks. Since commercial banking had traditionally been considered exempt from section 7 prosecution, the cry …