Within this increasingly complex mortgage market, policymakers must preserve the benefits of financial innovation while protecting consumers from unfair and abusive practices.

University of Illinois-Springfield, Springfield, Ill., March 6, 2008

In "The Causes and Effects of Financial Modernization," President Santomero outlines financial legislation since the 1930s and discusses the impact that the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act has had and will continue to have on the financial services industry.

We examine wealth effects, for banks and insurers, of bank rights to sell and underwrite annuities. The stock-price reactions to four court and regulatory decisions are consistent with expectations of bank gains at insurers' expense. Cross-sectionally, smaller, riskier insurers with higher...