GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works Faculty Scholarship 2014 A Two-Tiered System of Regulation is Needed to Preserve the Viability of Community Banks and Reduce the Risks of Megabanks Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr. George Washington University Law School,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/faculty_publications Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Wilmarth, Arthur E., A Two-Tiered System of Regulation is Needed to Preserve the Viability of Community Banks and Reduce the Risks of Megabanks (January 15, 2015). 2015 Michigan State Law Review, pp. 249-370, ; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2014-53; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2014-53. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2518690 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. A TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF REGULATION IS NEEDED TO PRESERVE THE VIABILITY OF COMMUNITY BANKS AND REDUCE THE RISKS OF MEGABANKS Arthur E. Wilmarth, Jr.* 2015 MICH. ST. L. REV. 249 ABSTRACT The financial crisis of 2007–2009 and its aftermath have accelerated a powerful consolidation trend in the U.S. banking industry. During the past three decades, the number of community banks and their share of the industry’s assets have fallen by more than half, and the largest banks have captured much of the industry’s assets. The federal government’s response to the financial crisis encouraged further consolidation by ensuring the survival of the biggest institutions while doing little to help community banks.