NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The consolidation of the U.S. banking industry is gaining steam, and Chicago may be the ripest major market for takeovers, according to KBW analyst Christopher McGratty. Thousands of small banks are trying to scrape together decent profits amid low interest rates and weak loan demand. There were about 7,150 banks in the U.S. as of Dec. 31, declining from 9,321 at the end of 2007, according to data provided by Thomson Reuters Bank insight. There were 465 bank failures during that period, and many more banks were forced to sell because of low credit quality and ... Read More