Bank regulation in the United States is highly fragmented compared with other G10 countries, where most countries have only one bank regulator. In the U.S., banking is regulated at both the federal and state level. Depending on the type of charter a banking organization has and on its organizational structure, it may be subject to numerous federal and state banking regulations. Apart from the bank regulatory agencies the U.S. maintains separate securities, commodities, and insurance regulatory agencies at the federal and state level, unlike Japan and the United Kingdom (where regulatory authority over the banking, securities and insurance industries is combined into one single financial-service agency). Bank examiners are generally employed to supervise banks and to ensure compliance with regulations.
U.S. banking regulation addresses privacy, disclosure, fraud prevention, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorism, anti-usury lending, and the promotion of lending to lower-income populations. Some individual cities also enact their own financial regulation laws (for example, defining what constitutes usurious lending).
Regulatory Authority
A bank's primary federal regulator could be the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Within the Federal Reserve System are 12 districts centered around 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, each of which carries out the Federal Reserve Board's regulatory responsibilities in its respective district. Credit unions are subject to most bank regulations and are supervised by the National Credit Union Administration. The Financial Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act of 1978 established the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) with uniform principles, standards, and report forms for the other agencies.
State regulation of state-chartered banks and certain non-bank affiliates of federally chartered banks applies in addition to federal regulation. State-chartered banks are subject to the regulation of the state regulatory agency of the state in which they were chartered. For example, a California state bank that is not a member of the Federal Reserve System would be regulated by both the California Department of Financial Institutions and the FDIC. Likewise, a Nevada state bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System would be jointly regulated by the Nevada Division of Financial Institutions and the Federal Reserve.
By statute, and in accordance with judicial interpretation of statutes and the United States Constitution, federal banking statutes (and the regulations and other guidance issued by federal banking regulatory agencies) often preempt state laws regulating certain activities of nationally chartered banking institutions and their subsidiaries. Specific exceptions to the general rule of federal preemption exist such as some contract law, escheat law, and insurance law.
One example is the Office of Thrift Supervision preempting federal savings associations from certain state laws. 12 U.S.C. § 1464(n) authorizes fiduciary activities for federal savings associations, and specifies certain state law requirements that are applicable to federal savings associations. 12 C.F.R. §550.136(c) lists six types of state laws that, in certain specified circumstances, are not preempted with respect to federal savings associations.
In the banking and financial services industry, two significant regulators are the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Privacy
Regulation P governs the use of a customer's private data. Banks and other financial institutions must inform a consumer of their policy regarding personal information, and must provide an "opt-out" before disclosing data to a non-affiliated third party. The regulation was enacted in 1999.
Concerning know your customer rules and Bank Secrecy Act regulations, financial institutions are encouraged to keep track of customers employment status and other business dealings, including whether or not the financial activity of customers are consistent with their business activities, and report on customers' suspect activities to the government.
Anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism
At its core, financial transparency requires financial institutions to implement certain basic controls:
they must know who their customers are (so-called know your customer rules); they must understand their customers' normal and expected transactions; and they must keep the necessary records and make the necessary reports on their customers.