The answer, says Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Anthony Santomero, is yes, no, and maybe. Yes, the government must absorb some of the risks inherent in the banking system in order to maintain the system's stability. No, regulations that ignore the self-interested reactions of...

Recently, the theory of banking regulation has undergone important changes. This has been the consequence of a number of compounding effects that have been occurring in the financial sector. First among these is on-going financial innovation, which has caused a virtual revolution in both...