A decade after the State Street decision, more than 1,000 business method patents are granted each year. Yet only one in ten are obtained by a financial institution. Most business method patents are also software patents. ; Have these patents increased innovation in financial services? To...

A look at the future of the retail banking industry by the president of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank. President Jordan explains that as technology and deregulation transform the financial marketplace, it will be critical to understand the services that people desire and to explore banks'...

Technology, market consolidation, international competition, and new legislation are changing the face of the financial services industry. How are the agencies responsible for ensuring the safety and soundness of our financial system responding? This Commentary is adapted from a keynote address...

Millions of Americans have no traditional banking relationship. Recent changes in government policy have required a new look at how financial institutions can serve the nation's unbanked population. To win these potential customers over, banks must continue to tailor products and services to...

This article designs a framework for evaluating the causes, consequences, and future implications of financial consolidation, reviews the extant research literature within the context of this framework (over 250 references), and suggests fruitful avenues for future research. The evidence is...

We use data on U.S. insurance companies to examine the validity of the conglomeration hypothesis versus the strategic focus hypothesis for financial institutions. We distinguish between the hypotheses using profit scope economies, which measures the relative efficiency of joint versus...

We examine the efficiency effects of the integration of the financial services industry and suggest directions for future research. We also propose a relatively broad working definition of integration and employ U.S. and European data on financial service industry M&As to illustrate several...