Vital New Areas Covered in the New Edition

Among the most important new issues we confront in the ninth edition are:

• A study of some of the new policy tools being considered to measure and possibly counter systemic risk in the economy, and perhaps prevent a future debacle similar to the 2007–2009 credit crisis.
• An effort to explore and understand the continuing fight in the home and commercial mortgage markets to combat declining property sales and construction activity, slow home foreclosures, aid struggling borrowers, and reduce the threat of a prolonged economic recession.
• A discussion of recent financial reform legislation and reregulation as possible efforts to head off yet another financial crisis surrounding the banking and financial sector and restore public confidence in the financial system. (Illustrated in the United States by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.)
• A tracking of the rise of new consumer protection laws and regulations that offer defense for the welfare of consumers by promoting greater disclosure of contract terms, improved transparency in the information consumers are receiving, and better education of the public so that financial-service customers can make informed decisions (Illustrated by the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau inside the United States.)
• Helping to understand the battle over the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 and its supporting regulations that seek to protect credit card users from excessive service fees and from the failure of card companies to adequately disclose changing contract terms, though the new rules may ultimately raise the cost of credit card services to card users.
• Exploring the current race to erect new international capital standards, known as Basel III, which propose heavier capital requirements and heavier use of equity capital, particularly by the globe's largest international banks, to avoid bank failures and disruption in public confidence in the most prominent financial institutions.
• Examining the growing trends in branchless banking and mobile service delivery that have encouraged financial firms to develop electronic delivery systems, allowing the customer to access financial services wherever and whenever he or she wishes, though financial firms run the risk of depersonalization of services offered to the public.

Summary of Major Changes in the 9th Edition of BANK MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL SERVICES

* Reform of the Financial System —contents of the sweeping Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (“FINREG”), the most important banking and financial institutions legislation since the Great Depression of the 1930s (principally covered in Chapters 2 and 18 of the new edition plus parts of several additional chapters)

* Transparency and Disclosure in the Credit Card Industry—contents of the much-discussed Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009, the most sweeping set of laws affecting credit cards in the history of that popular consumer service (principally discussed in Chapters 2 and 18 along with other portions of the newest edition)

* Epic Changes in the Weapons of Federal Reserve Monetary Policy to Combat the Great Recession, including a description and explanation of the Fed's adoption of “quantitative easing “(QE2), the historic expansion of the Fed's balance sheet, and the impact on the economy and financial marketplace of the lowest interest rates since the Great Depression of the 1930s (principally discussed in Chapters 2 and 11 of the new edition)

* Major Changes in the Federal Deposit Insurance System to Promote Public Confidence in the Banking Industry Following the Great Recession of 2007-2009, including newly expanded FDIC deposit insurance coverage and revised insurance fees assessed against FDIC-insured depository institutions (discussed principally in Chapters 2 and 12)

* Development of New Basel III Capital Requirements for Banks Around the Globe, to promote the widespread use of equity capital as a powerful risk management tool to minimize the probability of bank failures (presented principally in Chapters 15 and 20)

* Systemic Risk Exposure and Possible Remedies for Systemic Risk for Financial-Service Managers and Policy Makers, including the creation of a new Financial Stability Oversight Council to identify and head-off market-wide risk and economic recessions in future years (introduced principally in Chapter 2 of the new edition)

* Discussion of The Newest Changes in the Structure of the of the Banking System, including the consolidation of the largest banks (such as Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and Barclays) and financial pressures and failures among many smaller and medium-size regional and community banking institutions (discussed principally in Chapters 2, 3, 4, 19, and 20)

* The Rise of Branchless Banking and Mobile Service Delivery, including online and telephone marketing and service delivery to promote customer convenience and lower production costs (presented mainly in Chapters 3 and 4 of the new edition and elsewhere)

* New Barriers Erected Against the Use of the Too Big to Fail (TBTF) Doctrine, erected by passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to head off the possible domination of financial –service industry leaders and other mega-businesses (principally in Chapter 2 of the newest edition)

* The Emergence of a New Regulatory Structure and New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including the promotion of full disclosure and transparency in financial-service contracts in order to encourage consumers to shop around and stimulate greater competition among financial-service providers (principally in Chapters 2 and 18 and in other locations of the new edition).

* The Changing Rules for Lenders and Borrowers in the Mortgage Market and the Possible Consequences for Future Home Ownership, including causes of the recent collapse in the mortgage market on the heels of the Great Recession of 2007-2009 and subsequent job market pressures (discussed principally in Chapters 9 and 18).

* The Changing Matrix of Federal and State Regulations Applying to Thousands of Nonbank Financial-Service Providers that Have Been Lightly Regulated in the Past But May Face Major New Sets of Rules in the Years Ahead, including potentially greater regulation of payday lenders, credit counselors, securities firms, hedge funds, mortgage companies, and a broad spectrum of other financial-service retailers (especially in Chapters 2 and 18).