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Over the past 20 years, we have seen a material and sustained change in the structure of banking. Community bank charters have fallen from 10,000 to about 6,000. Yet we intuitively know that community banks are important to their communities and the U.S. economy. For that reason, the Federal Reserve System and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors partnered to sponsor Community Banking in the 21st Century, the inaugural community banking research conference held Oct. 2-3 at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
It is common knowledge that the banking industry has become increasingly consolidated over the past 25 years. In 1990, prior to a number of banking law changes, the nation housed around 12,500 charters. Today, there are roughly 6,000 charters, with consolidated assets of the top 10 U.S. banking firms representing approximately 64 percent of U.S. banking assets. Without question, operations of these large firms magnified the financial crisis, emphasizing their systemic importance. The resulting landmark legislation—the Dodd-Frank Act—is intended to reduce systemic risk and, ultimately, end “too big to fail.”
We consider it critical that the voice of “main street” lending institutions be considered in the formulation of good supervisory policy.
Small businesses have no doubt felt the crunch of a struggling economy. In this issue of Bridges, learn what the Federal Reserve and other organizations are doing to help understand and meet the unique financing needs of small businesses and related stakeholders.
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and private-label assets comprised much of this system.
2007 and 2008 promise to be challenging for both lenders and borrowers who chose adjustable rate subprime mortgages.
We ask bankers and state regulators what they are seeing.
Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of Banking Supervision and Regulation, shares her thoughts about why lenders should engage in prudent risk-management practices.
Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of Banking Supervision and Regulation, shares her thoughts about how community bankers can take a role in preventing banking fraud and identity theft.
Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of Banking Supervision and Regulation, shares how the St. Louis Fed will be reaching out to the mid-South banking community.
The challenge is to incorporate more advanced risk-management strategies.
By traditional measures, liquidity risk for banks is higher today than 10 years ago. But new measures—necessitated by new funding sources—tell another story.
Regulators are responsible for furthering the stability of the banking system.
Julie Stackhouse, senior vice president of banking supervision, points out that while there has been great progress by community banks since the end of the banking crisis, the news is still mixed. Earnings have rebounded, but pressure on net interest margins remains a concern. Still, there is a role for well-managed banks. Those banks planning for the challenges will be best positioned to survive them.
