Here’s a financial trivia question: What does Tupelo, Miss., have that much larger metropolitan areas, including Atlanta, Phoenix and San Diego, don’t?

The answer: Tupelo is the smallest city in America to have at least two banks with more than $10 billion in assets call it home: BancorpSouth Bank and Renasant Bank. In an age of bank consolidation, what difference does it make to have two major hometown banks in a town Tupelo’s size?

In part one of a special two-part series on the ABA Banking Journal Podcast, co-host Evan Sparks takes listeners on a trip to America’s tiniest financial hub. This episode, recorded on location, explores the unique factors that set Tupelo apart from its peer cities. Next week, part two will dig more deeply into the effect of having not just the two midsize banks in the market but their headquarters.

• Read the cover story in the March/April 2019 issue of the ABA Banking Journal on the Tupelo story.