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And that is why I asked [regarding the bank purchase].

This editorial explains the frustration better than I can. Hope it helps.

The Virginia way killed statewide banks
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 1, 2003
Last updated: 11:01 PM
And then there were none.
The commonwealth's last statewide bank, First Virginia, is being bought by three initials from North Carolina: BB&T Corp.
First Virginia follows in the footsteps of Crestar, Central Fidelity, Sovran and Signet, once-great statewide banks that became financially obsolete thanks in no small part to the shortsightedness of state lawmakers. Plenty of credit will still be available to Hampton Roads consumers and businesses. BB&T already had a major and respected presence in Hampton Roads. But this is more than a business story. The passing of the last statewide bank teaches a harsh economic lesson about the consequences of political leadership that fails to adjust to changing times.
Over a number of decades, Virginia legislators, bound to their hometown bankers by social and political relationships, never took seriously the changing trends in finance -- until it was too late. They failed to understand that Virginia is not an island. Believing that the old banking ways were good for Virginia and themselves, legislators tried to preserve them. But they couldn't hold back change forever. In the mid-'90s, banks from states with more forward-looking banking laws, such as North Carolina, began feasting on Virginia fare. First Virginia was the last big meal.
Once Falls Church is no longer the First Virginia headquarters, high-paying executive jobs will depart the state. Local legal firms will lose business. Decisions that used to be made in Virginia will be made in North Carolina. Fewer executives will be available to serve on community boards. United Way and community causes will have one fewer friend. BB&T said that its charitable foundation will contribute $15 million over several years to organizations in First Virginia's market area. But First Virginia looked after Virginia first.
The Eastern Virginia Medical School was not born through the efforts of executives working for out-of-state banks and businesses. It was a local labor of love, and such projects become more difficult whenever another headquarters departs.
What happened to Virginia's banks is what happened to Virginia's bigger cities. It's no coincidence that cities in Virginia are fighting the same losing battle against Raleigh and Charlotte that Virginia banks fought against the banks of North Carolina.
For cities, the legislators barred expansion of borders and limited means of raising funds. For banks, Virginia legislators protected the small ones, on whose boards they often served. Starting in the 1930s, they protected community banks by keeping larger banks out.
James V. Koch, a former Old Dominion University president and current ODU professor of economics, said, ``If Virginia had different banking legislation 10 or 20 years ago, we might have been the headquarters for some of these banks. Legislators were reacting primarily to political influences. It turns out that, economically speaking, it was probably a bad choice.''
While Virginia kept banks small by limiting new branches to the parent-bank city or county, North Carolina permitted statewide branching.
According to a report by ODU's Regional Studies Institute, the biggest bank in Virginia in 1962 could offer a credit line of only $1.55 million, whereas an industry in any of 15 North Carolina cities could obtain a a $5 million loan from a single bank.
As recently as 1994, 100 percent of Virginia bank deposits were in banks headquartered within the state. But that year, a federal law aimed at increasing bank competition permitted bank holding companies to acquire banks in any other state, no matter what that state's laws said.
Within six years, the ODU report showed, more than half of all banking deposits in Virginia were acquired by out-of-state banks, mostly in North Carolina.
In 1994, North Carolina had large banks ready to profit from the new federal legislation promoting competition. Virginia didn't. North Carolina embraced the future. Virginia attempted to hold it at bay. Where North Carolina looked ahead, Virginia clung to the past.
The pity is that Virginia legislators will probably learn nothing from this trail of failures. Recent actions suggest that history might repeat itself with Virginia's colleges and universities. State government is weakening them, undermining their ability to flourish, just like the cities and the banks before them.

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