United States yearbook - 1982 (1)

S ection 17
Banking, Finance,
and Insurance
This section presents data on the Nation's finances, various types of financial institutions, money
and credit, securities, and insurance. The primary sources of these data are publications of several
departments of the Federal Government, especially the Treasury Department, and independent
agencies such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve System, and the
Securities and Exchange Commission. National data on insurance are available primarily from private
organizations, such as the American Council of Life Insurance.
Flow of funds.—The flow of funds accounts of the Federal Reserve System (see tables 812 to
817) bring together statistics on all of the major forms of financial transactions and financial claims
to present an economy-wide view of asset and liability relationships. In flow form, the accounts
relate borrowing and lending to one another and to the nonfinancial activities that generate income
and production. Each claim outstanding is included simultaneously as an asset of the lender and as
a liability of the debtor. The accounts also indicate the balance between asset totals and liability
totals over the economy as a whole. Several publications of the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System contain information on the flow of funds accounts: Summary data on flows, in the
F e d e ra l R e s e rve B u lletin , F lo w o f F u n d s A cco u n ts (quarterly), F lo w o f F u n d s Acco un ts, A sse ts a n d
L ia b ilitie s O utstanding, 1 9 5 7 -1 9 8 0 , and A n n u a l S ta tis tic a l D ig e s t; and concepts and organization of
the accounts, In In trod u ctio n to F lo w o f F u n d s (June 1980).
Banking system.—Banks in this country are organized under the laws of both the States and
the Federal Government and are regulated by several bank supervisory agencies. State-chartered
banks are supervised by officials of the respective States. National banks are supervised by the
Comptroller of the Currency. R e p o rts o f C o n dition have been collected from national banks since
1863. Summaries of these reports are published in the Comptroller’s A n n u a l R ep ort, which also
presents data on the structure of the national banking system.
The Federal Reserve System was established in 1913 to exercise central banking functions,
some of which are shared with the U.S. Treasury. It includes national banks and such State banks
as voluntarily join the System. Statements of State bank members are consolidated by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System with data for national banks collected by the Comptroller
of the Currency Into totals for all member banks of the System. Balance sheet data for member
banks and other commercial banks are published in condensed form in the F e d e ra l R e s e rv e
B u lletin .
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), established in 1933, insures each depositor
up to $100,000 currently in banks that, are members of the Federal Reserve System and in such
nonmember banks as join the insurance fund. A balance sheet for all banks in the country is published
in the FDIC's A n n u a l R e p o rt Major item balance sheets for all commercial banks are published
monthly in the F e d e ra l R e s e rve B u lletin .
Savings and loan and other credit agencies.—Savings and loan associations, insurance companies,
finance companies dealing primarily in installment sales financing, credit unions, and personal
loan companies represent important sources of funds for the credit market. Savings and loan
associations are primarily involved in credit extension in the form of mortgage loans. Statistics on
savings and loan associations are collected by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Statistics on
loans, investments, cash, etc., of life insurance companies are published principally by the American
Council of Life Insurance in its L ife In s u ra n c e F a c t B oo k. Consumer credit data are published
currently in the F e d e ra l R e s e rv e Bu lletin .
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