Banking in the United States
Anchored by New York City and Wall Street, it is centered on various financial services, such as private banking, asset management, and deposit security.
After merchants in the Thirteen Colonies needed a currency as a medium of exchange, the Bank of North America was opened to facilitate more advanced financial transactions.
[2] During this time, the Thirteen Colonies had not established a currency, and used informal trade[clarification needed] to finance their daily activities.
[2] State banks began printing money rapidly, sparking runaway inflation and leading to the Panic of 1837.
[2] Investment banking began in the 1860s with the establishment of Jay Cooke & Company, one of the first selling agents for government bonds.
Some individual cities also enact their own financial regulation laws (for example, defining what constitutes usurious lending).
[5] The central banking system of the United States, called the Federal Reserve system, was created in 1913 by the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, largely in response to a series of financial panics, particularly a severe panic in 1907.
[14] The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is a U.S. federal agency established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States.
It was created in 1989 as a renamed version of another federal agency (that was faulted for its role in the Savings and loan crisis).
The federal government only requires that whatever rates, fees, or terms are set by issuers be disclosed to the consumer in accordance with the Truth in Lending Act.
Although originally focused on residential mortgage lending, they have expanded their business across the range of banking activities.
They operate under a distinct regulatory framework from national banks that allows them, for example, to invest directly in real estate development companies.
In the United States, banking privacy and information security is not protected through a singular law nor is it an unalienable right.
[5] The most prominent federal law governing banking privacy in the U.S. is the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB).
[5] However, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) offers numerous banking privacy provisions within its statutes.
