New Books in Economics Peter Conti-Brown and Sean H. Vanatta, "Private Finance, Public Power: A History of Bank Supervision in America" (Princeton UP, 2025)
Aug 29, 2025
Sean H. Vanatta, a financial historian at the University of Glasgow, dives into the complexities of bank supervision in America. He discusses the evolution of oversight from wildcat banks to the Federal Reserve, highlighting the crucial difference between supervision and regulation. Vanatta also reflects on the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank collapse, revealing the tension between private profit and public responsibility. Plus, he shares fascinating stories about historical figures, the role of gender in finance, and insights from the Freedman's Bank saga.
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Collaborate And Budget Time For Big Projects
- Pursue co-authorship to expand scope and build projects you cannot complete alone.
- Accept that book-length research takes long, so break work into manageable, incremental phases.
Supervision Is Discretionary Risk Management
- Supervision enforces and interprets regulations through discretionary risk management rather than just applying rules.
- Supervisors manage unknown risks by continuous engagement and judgment inside banks.
From Experimentation To Public Backstop
- U.S. banking evolved from experimentation to public takeover during the New Deal and then stable layering of responsibilities.
- The New Deal solidified public backstops like deposit insurance and reshaped supervisory authority.
