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Full-Text Articles in Law
Brandeisian Banking, Kathryn Judge
Brandeisian Banking, Kathryn Judge
Faculty Scholarship
Banking law shapes the structure of the banking system, which in turn shapes the structure of the economy. One of the most significant ways that banking law in the United States traditionally sought to promote Brandeisian values of stability and decentralization was through a combination of carrots and sticks that enabled small banks across the country to thrive. To see this requires a richer understanding of Brandeis as someone who valued not just atomistic competition but also small business and broad flourishing. It also requires a deeper understanding of the ways different parts of banking law worked together during the …
Rebuilding Banking Law: Banks As Public Utilities, Lev Menand, Morgan Ricks
Rebuilding Banking Law: Banks As Public Utilities, Lev Menand, Morgan Ricks
Faculty Scholarship
Under the New Deal framework for money and payments — which had its roots in the National Bank Act of 1864 — banks in the United States were governed in many respects as public utilities. Charters were available only where they were consistent with public convenience and need, the usual standard for utilities. Banks enjoyed an exclusive privilege to augment the money supply, maintaining deposit account balances that house-holds and businesses could use as a means of payment and store of value. Banks were largely limited to conducting activities consistent with their monetary purpose. Geographic expansion was constrained to promote …