Newton, Mass., the home base of House financial services committee chairman Barney Frank, is considering a one-year ban on new bank branches opening in the city, the Boston Globe reports:
A Newton economic development advisory group is pushing for a moratorium on new banks in the city, saying that they crowd out other merchants and drain the energy from villages at night...
The Economic Development Commission has proposed that for one year, banks would have to obtain a special permit to open on the ground floor of business districts. Banks usually are able to move into storefronts in commercial areas without special permits...
There are at least 31 bank offices in Newton, according to federal records...