The U.S. banking sector looks fundamentally different from its global counterparts. You've got way more commercial banks operating here compared to other developed economies—it's a fragmented market by design. But here's what's shifting: there's mounting pressure to consolidate. Scale matters in modern banking, and institutions are increasingly pushing for mergers to compete more effectively. What's enabling this? The regulatory environment is becoming less restrictive, and the financial barriers to consolidation have notably decreased. Whether this trend accelerates depends on policy decisions ahead, but the structural case for fewer, larger players has never been stronger.