This course explores the regulation of financial institutions in the United States, covering insured depository institutions, such as banks and thrifts, as well as other types of financial intermediaries, including insurance companies, securities firms and investment companies. While the course will review both the history of financial regulation in this country as well as the distinctive features of regulation in each sector of the industry, our central focus will be on current issues in each sector of the industry as well as the design and administration of a supervisory system for a multi-sectored financial services industry. In the Fall of 2014, coverage will emphasize many aspects of the implementation of the Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. Margaret E. Tahyar, a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, will co-teach six classes on Financial Conglomerates and Systemic Risk, which will be held the weeks of November 3rd and 10th.

In addition to introducing students to the structure of regulation in this field, the course is intended to assist students in conducting legal research on financial regulation, as would be expected for lawyers working in either private practice or government positions. During the semester, each student enrolled in the course will be assigned to work with one other student to prepare a short research paper (5-10 pages) on a topic covered in the course in the semester. A preliminary list of potential topics appears below. There will also be an in-class examination. Grading will be based on the examination and the research paper, with a possible upward adjustment for class discussions and iSite postings with respect to research papers.

Readings for the course will come from a variety of sources, including excerpts from Michael Barr, Howell Jackson & Margaret Tahyar, Financial Regulation: Law and Policy (forthcoming Foundation Press 2015), including a number of policy problems, an occasional business school case study, and various primary sources.