Banking regulation and deposit insurance: legal and comparative perspective.

Abstract

A major point of debate in most financial systems is the relevance, form and scope of regulatory intervention, particularly on the trade-off between the benefits and costs of regulation. Deposit insurance is a prominent part of most modern regulatory financial safety nets. As with banking regulation in general, it is still debatable whether deposit insurance is necessary in all cases. While most deposit insurance schemes have the joint aims of financial stability and depositor protection, there are inherent difficulties posed by the introduction of such schemes, in particular the moral hazard and agency problems. For the purpose of this thesis, these difficulties have been generally termed as the deposit insurance problem. A number of issues arise for consideration if deposit insurance is to be provided. The thesis argues that the optimal design of deposit insurance schemes is dependent on three factors: an effective system of bank supervision and regulation; identification and prioritisation of the policy objectives which the scheme is to achieve; and adoption of incentive-compatible systems in line with sound practice guides but tailored to country-specific circumstances. There is generally no fixed or absolute model for all states. The thesis involves an assessment of deposit insurance schemes in the United Kingdom, the United States and Nigeria. An assessment of these schemes, as well as international and regional developments, will show that cross-country differences should play an important factor in the adoption or reform of deposit insurance schemes, but that there arc common concerns for policymakers whatever the distinctiveness of local circumstances. The challenge for policymakers is how to achieve a fair balance between the protection of depositors and banking system stability on the one hand and minimizing elements of the deposit insurance problem on the other hand. The aim is to recommend a future course of reform that includes a general support model and specific recommendations for the jurisdictions that are examined