The Financial Regulatory Environment

Abstract

The financial regulatory environment in the United States covers the insurance, banking, and securities industries. This note summarizes the regulation of all three as of July 31, 2010.This compact technical note is intended to provide students with a summary of U.S. financial regulatory history. It traces regulatory agencies and the most relevant congressional acts from 1863 to 2010. Its original intent was to be used as background for the "The SEC vs. Goldman Sachs" cases (UVA-GEM-0101 and UVA-GEM-0102). It could also serve as a supplement for a class on financial markets and institutions, the history of U.S. financial crises, or the general history of business regulation in the United States.

Excerpt

UVA-GEM-0103

Oct. 27, 2010

The Financial Regulatory Environment

The financial regulatory environment in the United States covers the insurance, banking, and securities industries. This note summarizes the regulation of all three as of July 31, 2010.

Bank Regulation

Banks in the United States may be granted their charter by one of three authorities: their home state banking commission can grant state charters, the Comptroller of the Currency can grant federal charters, and the Office of Thrift Supervision can grant charters to savings and loan institutions. The chartering authority of a bank acts as its primary regulator and retains authority to close a bank or thrift that has failed.

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Keywords: SEC, FDIC, OCC, regulation, federal, regulator