Since the 1930s, the U.S. banking system has relied on government deposit insurance, with private investors providing capital in the form of equity and debt. The housing finance system has relied on government loan insurance, subsidies, and implicit guarantees from government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). With the financial market panic that began in 2007, the government has vastly escalated its involvement, with explicit guarantees for bank debt, massive injections of equity to financial firms and GSEs, loss sharing agreements to support the liabilities of the largest banks, and investments in risk assets by the Federal Reserve. Has the U.S. financial system gone past the point of no return when it comes to government ownership and control of the banking system? Can policymakers and private investors reprivatize American finance? Should they? If so, how?

This event is cosponsored by AEI and the Professional Risk Managers' International Association.