TESTIMONY OF
L. WILLIAM SEIDMAN
CHXIRMAD
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
ON
INTERNATIO�AL TRENDS IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY
BEFORE THE
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS TASK FORCE
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, FINANCE AND URBAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
11:30 AM
March 22, 1990
Room 2359-A, Rayburn House Office Building
L. WILLIAM SEIDMAN
CHXIRMAD
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION
ON
INTERNATIO�AL TRENDS IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY
BEFORE THE
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS TASK FORCE
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, FINANCE AND URBAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
11:30 AM
March 22, 1990
Room 2359-A, Rayburn House Office Building
Mr. ,Chairmap and members 'Of th, International
,';
Competitiveness Task Force, I am pleased to be here today to
discuss the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's views on the
competitiveness of American banks in the global marketplace. We
applaud the creation of this Task Force and look forward to a
continuing dialogue on much-needed reforms to our own domestic
financial services inaustry.
Banking is experiencing and will continue, to experience
rapid and critical changes, yet our current financial system was
shaped in response to events which occurred over 50 years ago.
This system is outdated, inequitable and inefficient. As a
_result, we believe that system now hampers the ability of our
financial institutions to effectively compete in the marketplace.
Later in the testimony, we give some detail on the status of
foreign laws, regulations and practices, in-order to address
concerns about the competitive position of U.S. banks in
international markets. This suminary also provides a comparison
of permissible activities in other countries, as well as recent
actions-by other governments to modernize their domestic
financial systems. It is time for our government to take action
as well. Failure to enact needed reform to our financial system
,';
Competitiveness Task Force, I am pleased to be here today to
discuss the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's views on the
competitiveness of American banks in the global marketplace. We
applaud the creation of this Task Force and look forward to a
continuing dialogue on much-needed reforms to our own domestic
financial services inaustry.
Banking is experiencing and will continue, to experience
rapid and critical changes, yet our current financial system was
shaped in response to events which occurred over 50 years ago.
This system is outdated, inequitable and inefficient. As a
_result, we believe that system now hampers the ability of our
financial institutions to effectively compete in the marketplace.
Later in the testimony, we give some detail on the status of
foreign laws, regulations and practices, in-order to address
concerns about the competitive position of U.S. banks in
international markets. This suminary also provides a comparison
of permissible activities in other countries, as well as recent
actions-by other governments to modernize their domestic
financial systems. It is time for our government to take action
as well. Failure to enact needed reform to our financial system