The articles and commentaries included in this volume were presented at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis' fifteenth annual economic policy conference.
The conference focused on the effects of a variety of recent changes in the market for financial services in the United States. This market has been changing rapidly in recent years: business loans have become more liquid, as the market for loan sales grows. Banks have been permitted to participate in a limited form of interstate banking. Commercial banks have been given permission to offer additional underwriting services. The market for residential mortgage credit has been transformed, through securitization and the declining role of savings and loan associations. Foreign financial firms have taken a rising share of the market financial services.
The papers in this volume describe these changes and examine implications for financial institutions and their customers.