We test whether the gains from hiring an outside manager exceed the principal-agent costs of owner-manager separation at 266 small, closely held U.S. commercial banks. Our results suggest that hiring an outside manager can improve a bank's profit efficiency, but that these gains depend on...

In recent years, growth in traditional deposit funding sources has failed to match the growth in assets at many banks. These funding shortfalls are raising a number of important concerns, including whether community banks will have to curtail lending to small businesses, farmers, and other local...

Over the last decade, many significant developments have influenced home lending. Among these developments are the longest expansion period in U.S. history, pathbreaking technological and financial innovations, new regulatory and legislative incentives for low- and moderate-income lending, and...

Special issue on problem banks

Since its inception in mid-1800s, insurance regulation in the U.S. has continued to evolve in response to changing circumstances and the opportunity to take advantage of new methods and technologies. Important developments in insurance regulatory policies and practices at an international level,...

In the debate over the proposed establishment of a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency, much attention has been given to discussion of whether consumers are irrational or incompetent and therefore need paternalistic regulators to look after them, and whether inadequate consumer protection...

This Policy Brief identifies ten flaws in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and proposes a series of remedies based on repeal and/or alteration of the legislation as it exists. This paper tackles perceived flaws in 1) individual and employer mandates; 2) ACA subsidies; 3) incentives that steer...