eleven thousand in 1984 to just over seven thousand in 2006. The average profitability of the largest banks grew to outstrip the profitability of the industry’s smallest banks; an outcome traceable to increased competition from bank and nonbank financial firms, new technology that reduced the advantage of banks having a local presence, and the development of services that could be offered over wider geographic areas (www.mheducation.com). A new type of financial-services holding company (FHC) was created in 1999 as a result of passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act. Provided these entities hold strong capital positions and possess sound management, they are permitted to bring together under the same corporate umbrella, commercial banks, investment banks, insurance companies, and selected other affiliated companies that are “financial in nature” and “compatible” with banking (www.mheducation.com). The FHCs come closest to mirroring the organizational structures and service menus of leading European banks, such as Deutsche Bank AG of Frankfurt and HSBC Holdings based in London, by offering the broadest array of services of any financial-services provider (www.mheducation.com). With joint approval of the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board the menu of services FHCs can offer may be expanded in the future. As the twenty-first century unfolded almost six hundred and fifty holding companies selling services in the United States, including both domestic and foreign-based firms, had qualified as FHCs (www.mheducation.com). While the numbers represent less than ten percent of all bank holding companies registered in the United States, the banking affiliates of FHCs account for more than ninety percent of the total assets of the U.S. banking industry. Many corporations get their initial exposure to international business when they begin to sell or