Universal banking in the United States what could we gain? What could we lose? - Saunders, Anthony (Oxford University Press, 1994)
Includes bibliographical references and index
1. Introduction: Banking Structure and Global Competition; 2. Measures of Competitive Performance in Global Financial Markets; 3. Economics of Scale and Scope Among the World's Largest Banks; 4. The Nature of Universal Banking; 5. The Risk of Nonbank Activities; 6. How Risky Would Universal Banks Be?; 7. Universal Banking and Reform of the Financial Safety Net; 8. Towards a Rational and Competitive Regulatory Structure; Annex: Summary of Laws Affecting Domestic Activities of Commercial Banks in Major Industrialized Countries; References; Index
In 1933 and 1956, the United States sharply limited the kinds of securities activities, commercial activities, and insurance activities banks could engage in. The regulations imposed on banks back then remain in place despite profound changes in the economic environment, in the structure of the national and international financial markets, and in technology. In this span of time many industries, especially those confronting global competition, have transformed themselves dramatically in their efforts to survive and prosper. Not so in the American financial services sector, banks have largely r