【正文】 s interests. This intervention takes the form of regulation. However, the need for regulation to minimize social costs may impose private costs to the firms that would not exist without regulation. This additional private cost is defined as a regulatory burden. Examples include the cost of holding excess capital and/or excess reserves and the extra costs of providing information. Although they may be socially beneficial, these costs add to private operating costs. To the extent that these additional costs help to avoid negative externalities and to ensure the smooth and efficient operation of the economy, the regulatory burden is positive. 25. What forms of protection and regulation do regulators of FIs impose to ensure their safety and soundness? Regulators have issued several guidelines to insure the safety and soundness of FIs: a. FIs are required to diversify their assets. For example, banks cannot lend more than 10 percent of their equity to a single borrower. b. FIs are required to maintain minimum amounts of capital to cushion any unexpected losses. In the case of banks, the Basle standards require a minimum core and supplementary capital of 8 percent of their riskadjusted assets. 8 c. Regulators have set up guaranty funds such as BIF for mercial banks, SIPC for securities firms, and state guaranty funds for insurance firms to protect individual investors. d. Regulators also engage in periodic monitoring and surveillance, such as onsite examinations, and request periodic information from the FIs. 26. In the transmission of moary policy, what is the difference between inside money and outside money? How does the Federal Reserve Board try to control the amount of inside money? How can this regulatory position create a cost for the depository financial institutions? Outside money is that part of the money supply directly produced and controlled by the Fed, for example, coins and currency. Inside money refers to bank deposits not directly controlled by the Fed. The Fed can influence this amount of money by reserve requirement and discount rate policies. In cases where the level of required reserves exceeds the level considered optimal by the FI, the inability to use the excess reserves to generate revenue may be considered a tax or cost of providing intermediation. 27. What are some examples of credit allocation regulation? How can this attempt to create social benefits create costs to the private institution? The qualified thrift lender test (QTL) requires thrifts to hold 65 percent of their assets in residential mortgagerelated assets to retain the thrift charter. Some states have enacted usury laws that place maximum restrictions on the interest rates that can be charged on mortgages and/or consumer loans. These types of restrictions often create additional operating costs to the FI and almost certainly reduce the amount of profit that could be realized without such regulation. 28. What is the purpose of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act? What are the social benefits desired from the legislation? How does the implementation of this legislation create a regulatory burden on financial institutions? The HMDA was passed by Congress to prevent discrimination in mortgage lending. The social benefit is to ensure that everyone who qualifies financially is provided the opportunity to purchase a house should they so desire. The regulatory burden has been to require a written statement indicating the reasons why credit was or was not granted. Since 1990, the federal regulators have examined millions of mortgage transactions from more than 7,700 institutions each calendar quarter. 29. What legislation has been passed specifically to protect investors who use investment banks directly or indirectly to purchase securities? Give some examples of the types of abuses for which protection is provided. The Securities Acts of 1933 and 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 were passed by 9 Congress to protect investors against possible abuses such as insider trading, lack of disclosure, outright malfeasance, and breach of fiduciary responsibilities. 30. How do regulations regarding barriers to entry and the scope of permitted activities affect the charter value of financial institutions? The profitability of existing firms will be increased as the direct and indirect costs of establishing petition increase. Direct costs include the actual physical and financial costs of establishing a business. In the case of FIs, the financial costs include raising the necessary minimum capital to receive a charter. Indirect costs include permission from regulatory authorities to receive a charter. Again in the case of FIs this cost involves acceptable leadership to the regulators. As these barriers to entry are stronger, the charter value for existing firms will be higher. 31. What reasons have been given for the growth of investment panies at the expense of “traditional” banks and insurance panies? The recent growth of investment panies can be attributed to two major factors: a. Investors have demanded increased access to direct securities markets. Investment panies and pension funds allow investors to take positions in direct securities markets while still obtaining the risk diversification, monitoring, and transactional efficiency benefits of financial intermediation. Some experts would argue that this growth is the result of increased sophistication on the part of investors。Ls and savings banks traditionally serve the credit needs of the residential real estate market. Third, life insurance and pension funds monly are encouraged to provide mechanisms to transfer wealth across generations. Fourth, depository institutions efficiently provide payment services to