Commercial banks, those that take deposits and make loans as thier core business, have to have what is called a charter. The government agency that oversees a particular bank depends on the type of charter. National Banks, those chartered by the federal government are examined by the the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). State Banks, those chartered by a particular state government, are regulated by that state's Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) or a similarly named agency. Thrifts, savings and loans and Federal Savings Banks are under the scrutiny of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Additionally, bank holding companies, the corporate entities that may own one or more chartered banks, fall under the review of the Federal Reserve who examine the financial structure of the holding company and its subsidiaries in conjunction with the OCC, DFI, or OTS who do detailed examinations of the banking activities.

Hi Oscar,

The Federal Reserve (the "Fed") is the central banking system of the U.S.

Dave Kansas wrote about the Fed's ability to influence monetary policy here: http://www.filife.com/guides/the-federal-reserve-and-its-toolbox

Wikipedia provides a nice description here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_System

Hope that helps,
Kristen

Hi Oscar.

In addition to the above responses, check out the FDIC at:

http://www.2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp

This government agency insures all bank deposits for up to $250,000 each. You probably don't want to use a bank that doesn't qualify for this insurance, as you could lose everything if the bank should fail.

Good Luck.

Last edited 6 months ago by Doug