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Private Finance, Public Power: A Free Talk on the History of Bank Supervision in America
Banks may be private, profit-driven institutions—but the public has always shaped the risks they take and paid the price when they fail.
Private Finance, Public Power explores this uneasy partnership over two centuries of American history, from the wildcat banks of the early republic to the rise of federal deposit insurance and modern financial regulation.
Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown and historian Sean Vanatta bring this story to life with colorful characters and surprising moments: rogues looting failed banks, con artists posing as government examiners, bribes paid in oyster dinners, and reformers struggling to build order out of chaos. Through repeated crises and improvisation, today’s complex banking oversight system emerged—flawed, strained, but largely functional.
In this talk, Wharton professor Peter Conti-Brown explores why this history matters for understanding the challenges facing U.S. banking today.
This event will be held in room 131/132 on the first floor of the Heim Center.
