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Annual Conference 2025

Annual Conference 2025

The Effectiveness of Bank Regulation and the Resulting Resiliency of the Financial System

Insights on Risk, Stability, and the Future of Finance

The third annual policy conference, hosted by the George G. Kaufman Center for Financial Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago, brought together leading researchers, policymakers, and financial industry executives to examine critical policy issues shaping the financial services sector. Discussions explored the effectiveness of bank regulation, the evolving financial landscape, and strategies for ensuring a stable and resilient financial system.

Key themes

  • The Complexity of Bank Regulation: Has increasing regulatory complexity improved financial stability?
  • Industry Response to Regulation: How have banks adapted to new regulatory frameworks?
  • Financial Inclusion and the Unbanked: Strategies to bring unbanked populations into mainstream banking.
  • Non-Bank Financial Alternatives: The role of fintech, cryptocurrency, and payday lending.

Keynote Speaker

  • Thomas M. Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Former Vice Chairman, FDIC

Event photos

Check out photos from the event in the gallery below, or click here to view the Flikr album.

The Effectiveness of Bank Regulation and the Resulting Resiliency of the Financial System

Event Recap

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The George G. Kaufman Center for Financial Policy Studies continued to be a vital asset to Loyola University Chicago’s Business School, convening national experts and industry leaders to critically examine public policy challenges. The Center also connected professionals with students, offering real-world insight into the evolving financial sector. For many attendees, this event represented a continuation of Professor Kaufman’s legacy—fostering thoughtful, evidence-based analysis of regulatory systems.
Previous conferences explored why the financial services industry is regulated more heavily than other sectors. The answer lies in its central role in economic growth and the risks posed by systemic failures. While most industries benefit from minimal government intervention, banking operates under tighter controls due to externalities like contagion risk—where one institution’s collapse can trigger broader disruptions.
This year's conference built on last year’s timely discussions following the 2023 collapses of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, Silvergate Capital, and First Republic Bank. Those failures reignited scrutiny of the bank regulatory framework and set the stage for deeper analysis of its effectiveness.
Key questions at the conference included:
The program also examined related issues like financial inclusion, the impact of being unbanked, and emerging innovations in fintech and cryptocurrencies.
Thomas Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center and former President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, delivered the keynote. Drawing on decades of regulatory leadership—including roles at the FDIC and the International Association of Deposit Insurers—Hoenig provided a nuanced perspective on how regulatory reform can both strengthen and complicate the financial system.

Agenda

Click to view the program

Date: Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Time: 9:15 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Format: In-person
Location: Lewis Towers, 111 E. Pearson St., Beane Hall

8:45 a.m. | Registration Opens

9:30 a.m. | Conference Introduction
Michael Behnam, Dean, Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business

9:45 a.m. | Panel Discussion: Bank Regulation and the Resulting Resiliency of the Financial System
Moderated by Douglas D. Evanoff, Executive Director, Kaufman Center for Financial Policy Studies, Loyola University Chicago

Richard J. Herring, Jacob Safra Professor of International Banking, University of Pennsylvania
Randall S. Kroszner, Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics, University of Chicago; and External Member of the Financial Policy Committee, Bank of England 
John Sedunov, Faculty Director, Master of Science in Finance; Professor, Finance and Real Estate, Villanova University
Alex Pollock, Senior Fellow, Mises Institute
Scott Frame, Senior Vice President, Deputy Head of Research, Bank Policy Institute

11:45 a.m. | Luncheon

12:30 p.m. | Luncheon Keynote
Thomas M. Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow, The Mercatus Center at George Mason University; Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; and Former Vice Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

1:15 p.m. | The UnBanked
Moderated by Julián P. Díaz, Loyola University Chicago

Who Remains Unbanked in the United States and Why?
Paul Calem, Bank Policy Institute
Chris Henderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Jenna Wang, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Trust and Banking Status: Evidence from an Information Provision Experiment
Paola Boel, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Daniela Puzzello, Indiana University
Grant Rosenberger, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Peter Zimmerman, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Refining the Definition of the Unbanked
Elena Falcettoni, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
Vegard M. Nygaard, University of Houston

2:40 p.m. | Break

2:55 p.m. | Non-Bank Financial Entities: Fintech, Cryptocurrencies, Digital Assets
Moderated by Gene Amromin, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Beneath the Crypto Currents: The Hidden Effect of Crypto "Whales”
Alan Chernoff, The College of New Jersey
Julapa Jagtiani, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Subjective Risk Perceptions and Peer Effects: Evidence from a Laboratory Experiment Using Cryptocurrency
Lamont K. Black, DePaul University
James Mourey, DePaul University
Brian Phelan, DePaul University

Did Fintech Loans Default More During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Were Fintech Firms “Cream-Skimming" the Best Borrowers?
Julapa Jagtiani, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
Catharine Lemieux, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago (Retired)
Brandon Goldstein, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

4:15 p.m. | Adjourn

Revisit past conferences

Insights on Risk, Stability, and the Future of Finance

The third annual policy conference, hosted by the George G. Kaufman Center for Financial Policy Studies at Loyola University Chicago, brought together leading researchers, policymakers, and financial industry executives to examine critical policy issues shaping the financial services sector. Discussions explored the effectiveness of bank regulation, the evolving financial landscape, and strategies for ensuring a stable and resilient financial system.

Key themes

  • The Complexity of Bank Regulation: Has increasing regulatory complexity improved financial stability?
  • Industry Response to Regulation: How have banks adapted to new regulatory frameworks?
  • Financial Inclusion and the Unbanked: Strategies to bring unbanked populations into mainstream banking.
  • Non-Bank Financial Alternatives: The role of fintech, cryptocurrency, and payday lending.

Keynote Speaker

  • Thomas M. Hoenig, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Mercatus Center, George Mason University; Former President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City; Former Vice Chairman, FDIC

Event photos

Check out photos from the event in the gallery below, or click here to view the Flikr album.

Event Recap

Agenda