History of banking in the United States

This article details the history of banking in the United States. Banking in the United States is regulated by both the federal and state governments. New nation In the first half of the 19th century, many of the smaller commercial banks within New England were easily chartered as laws allowed to do so (primarily due to open franchise laws). The rise of commercial banking saw an increase in opportunities for entrepreneurs to borrow capital used to grow an enterprise. The small private banking sector saw a great deal of insider lending. Many of these banks actually spurred early investment and helped spur many later projects. Despite what some may consider discriminatory practices with insider lending, these banks actually were very sound and failures remained uncommon, further encouraging the financial evolution in the United States. Early attempts to create a national bank In 1781, an act of the Congress of the Confederation established the Bank of North America in Philadelphia, where it superseded the state-chartered Bank of Pennsylvania founded in 1780 to help fund the war. The Bank of North America was granted a monopoly on the issue of bills of credit as currency at the nation