Skip to main content
Log in

The Bank Failure Rate, Economic Conditions and Banking Statutes in the U.S., 1970–2009

  • Published:
Atlantic Economic Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Given the significance of bank failures for the economic health and stability of the U.S., it is imperative to have insights into factors that systematically influence bank failures, including major federal government banking statutes that are implemented. Accordingly, this exploratory study investigates factors influencing the bank failure rate in the U.S. over the period 1970 through 2009, with emphasis on two major banking statutes, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA) and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 (RNIBA). After allowing for a variety of economic and financial variables in the U.S. over the study period, the evidence strongly implies also that FDICIA acted to reduce bank failures whereas RNIBA (presumably by increasing competition and/or increasing costs through branch bank expansion) induced a net increase in bank failures in the U.S.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amos, O. M. (1992). The regional distribution of bank closings in the United States from 1982 to 1988. Southern Economic Journal, 58(4), 805–815.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barth, J. R., & Brumbaugh, R. D. (1992). The reform of federal deposit insurance. New York: Harper Business.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth, J. R., Brumbaugh, R. D., & Litan, R. E. (1992). The future of American banking. Armonk: M.E.Sharpe, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benston, G. J., & Kaufman, G. G. (1997). FDICIA after five years. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 11(2), 139–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, M. D., & Jansen, D. W. (1986). Deposit market deregulation and interest rates. Southern Economic Journal, 53(4), 478–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cargill, T. F., & Garcia, G. G. (1985). Financial reform in the 1980s. Stanford: Hoover Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cebula, R. J. (1996). An exploratory empirical analysis of the impact of FDICIA on bank failures in the United States. Applied Financial Economics, 7(6), 695–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cebula, R. J. (1999). An updated evaluation of U.S. banking legislation: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of, 1991 and its performance in terms of the financial services industry. Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics, 112, 145–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cebula, R. J. (2010). The impact of three major banking statutes on bank operations. Journal of Economics and International Finance, 2(7), 119–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cebula, R. J., & Belton, W. J. (1994). Failures in the financial services industry. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chao, R. Y., & Cebula, R. J. (1996). A heteroskedastic-tobit analysis of the S&L closing problem. Journal of Financial Services Research, 10(1), 5–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of Economic Advisors. (2010). Economic report of the president, 2010. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (1995). Annual report, 1995. Washington: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. (2010). Summary Statistics at: http://www2.fdic.gov/hsob/HSOBSummaryRpt.asp?BegYear=2009&EndYear=1960&State=1.

  • Gropp, R., Vesala, J., & Vulpes, G. (2006). Equity and bond market signals as leading indicators of bank fragility. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 38(4), 399–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saltz, I. S. (1994). On Regulation Q and the bank failure rate in the United States. International Review of Economics and Business, 41(2), 185–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheelock, D., & Wilson, P. (2000). Why do banks disappear? The determinants of U.S. bank failures and acquisitions. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 82(2), 127–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yahoo Finance Historical Price Table. (2010). Financial Market Statistics at: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s=%5EGSPC&a=00&b=3&c=1950&d=11&e=16&f=2008&g=m.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard J. Cebula.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Cebula, R.J., Koch, J.V. & Fenili, R.N. The Bank Failure Rate, Economic Conditions and Banking Statutes in the U.S., 1970–2009. Atl Econ J 39, 39–46 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-010-9258-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-010-9258-7

Keywords

JEL

Navigation