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Kenneth F. Ehrlich, co-chair of the Banking and Financial Services practice group, was quoted by The Boston Globe in “Bank mergers increase as profits are squeezed” on February 10. The article discusses how years of low interest rates and the rising costs of technology and regulation are prompting more small Massachusetts banks to seek mergers. The Massachusetts Division of Banks approved ten mergers in 2015, the most in five years, and is considering two more.

Mergers tended to be the last resort for struggling banks or ones that didn’t have a new generation of leaders to take over. Ken pointed out that more small banks are looking for partners now, because they don’t want to wait too long and find that their best match has been scooped up by another bank. “There’s a sense that size does matter,” he said. “The fear is that if you go looking for a merger partner, five years from now, there won’t be anybody.”