The Changing Face Of American Banking

With almost 6,300 commercial banks, significantly more than in any other country, the world of US banking is unique, fascinating, and always in flux. Two principal pieces of legislation have shaped the banking structure in this country: The McFadden Act of 1927, which prohibited banks from branching into other states, and The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, which separated commercial and investment banking activities. The repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 was one of the main contributing factors behind the global financial crisis of 2008. This measure resulted in the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, which once again prohibited commercial banks from making certain types of speculative investments. The Changing Face of American Banking analyzes the impact of both these acts - as well as that of their subsequent repeal - in depth, examining the real effects of government regulations on the US commercial banking sector. Ray Chaudhuri pinpoints the evolving nature of US commercial banks and banking regulations and explores their impact on the economy. Instead of just focusing on banks and regulations, this work considers the correlations and causality between banking performance and economic growth and productivity. It also brings the banking literature up to date with the 2008-2009 financial crisis and its aftermath, including the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010 and its effect on American banking.

NationsBank became one of the nation's leading financial powers following its 1988 entry into Texas with the acquisition of the former First Republic banks and its 1991 merger with C&S/Sovran of Atlanta and Norfolk. NationsBank now has nearly $120 billion in assets and is the leading bank in a region stretching from Maryland to southern Florida and western Texas. Howard Covington and Marion Ellis provide a fascinating account of this nontraditional financial institution that is now the fourth-largest bank in the country.

This book explores the evolution of central banks since World War II in 20 industrial countries. The study considers the mix of economic, political, and institutional forces that have affected central bank behavior and its relationship with government.

Central banks have emerged as the key players in national and international policy making. This book explores their evolution since World War II in 20 industrial countries. The study considers the mix of economic, political and institutional forces that have affected central bank behaviour and its relationship with government. The analysis reconciles vastly different views about the role of central banks in the making of economic policies. One finding is that monetary policy is an evolutionary process.

Presents the latest findings on past changes in structure, the factors that lead to structural change, its effect on societal welfare and what will happen to the structure of agriculture in the years ahead. The book provides insights on issues such as the family farm, the industrialization of agriculture and the impact of agricultural technology on the environment.

Many of the problems that have been brewing in the West European banking industry have come to the boil in the years since 1990. The essays collected in this volume focus in particular on competition, organisation and strategy, regulation and crises, and securities markets and financial centres.

This publication contains the World Banks annual review of global financial conditions facing developing countries. This volume (the first part of a two volume set) looks at recent trends in and prospects for financial flows to developing countries. It highlights sources of vulnerability and risk in the recovery of private finance flows, including the likely increases in interest rates in advanced economies and volatility in major currencies and financial markets, as well as problems of macroeconomic management in developing countries. It also presents the World Banks assessment of the global outlook in the light of the recent economic recovery. (Please note that the two volume set (including summary and country data tables for 136 countries, as well as summary data for regions and income groups) is also available separately (ISBN 0821357417).