Financial and economic regulation
There are many theories on the best methods and policies to oversee financial and economic regulation; researchers, economists, and politicians alike have all theorized on the best methods of financial and economic regulation and will continue to do so. It’s important that regulators continually and regularly revisit policies and best practices for financial and economic regulation as the economic landscape evolves.
In the United States, multiple and separate agencies are responsible for financial and economic regulation, and while they each have specific roles, their aim is to keep the economy safe. These include the Federal Reserve System, which was established in 1913 by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as the nation’s “central bank,” to conduct financial policy, to supervise institutions, and to provide financial support to the government and other institutions. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, was created in 1933 after the failure of many banking institutions and the Great Depression and provides insurance coverage for deposits at financial institutions and other regulatory and supervisory services. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or the OCC, was founded in 1863 and is responsible for the supervision, regulation, and chartering of U.S. banks and their foreign agencies. And the Office of Thrift Supervision, or OTS, falls under the scop of the U.S. Treasury and the main federal savings bank and federal savings and loan regulator.
Each agency works with the others when necessary, and all are under close scrutiny to ensure that they do their part to maintain proper financial and economic regulation. Certainly, challenging times will bring changes and new policies. But regardless of the regulator, when it comes to financial and economic regulation, the mission is the same, even in the most challenging of economic environments: to provide a safe, sound, and secure financial system for the benefit of all Americans.