The number of Kansas bank mergers and branch acquisition applications this year has exceeded the total number in 2009.

According to mergers and acquisitions application data from the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner, there were seven applications for bank mergers or branch acquisitions as of July.

That compares with six in all of 2009, according to the same data.

The reasons for the increase can be many, Rick LeCompte, finance professor at Wichita State University, said.

Some can be driven by regulators gently pushing banks with weak capital to merge with another bank that has stronger capital. In other instances, mergers can occur because a bank's owners no longer want to deal with a new round of regulation that typically comes after a banking crisis begins.

"The regulatory burden on these small banks is onerous," LeCompte said.

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