With the Office of Thrift Supervision nearing its final days, what will become of the thrifts themselves? Keith Fisher, of counsel in Ballard Spahr's Washington, D.C., office and a member of the firm's Consumer Financial Services Group, is quoted on the issue in Bank Director. Mr. Fisher, who is noted for his bank regulatory work, believes many federal thrifts will convert to banks.
"Over the next ten years, I would be surprised to see if there are many thrifts left at all," Mr. Fisher told the publication. "This is not a one-size-fits-all. There are a lot of thrifts that will say, 'We like being a community institution and we've been profitable and we'd rather not rock the boat.' Yes, I think they'd be well advised to stick to their knitting and continue what's been working for them. But some may have been hampered by the fact that qualified thrift lending keeps them constrained. They might be persuaded to at least consider conversion."