The International Banking Act (IBA) of 1978 sharply restricted the ability of foreign banks to establish offices in more than one state. Yet during the late 1970s and early 1980s barriers to interstate banking with regard to US financial institutions were beginning to fall. The most important...

Foreign commercial banks seeking to establish a multi‐state presence in the US have followed different approaches, including the use of loan production offices (LPOs) examined here. These are used primarily to facilitate off‐premise lending to borrowers outside the local service area, and...