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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. Banks commonly use depositor funds to invest in stocks.
a. True
b. False
2. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted to ensure a more transparent process for reporting on a firm’s productivity
and financial condition.
a. True
b. False
3. Some publicly traded banks have incurred larger reporting expenses as a result of having to comply with the Sarbanes-
Oxley Act.
a. True
b. False
4. The fair value accounting that is used to value a bank’s assets for purposes of meeting capital requirements requires a
bank to periodically “mark its assets to market.”
a. True
b. False
5. In general, a bank defines its value-at-risk as the estimated potential loss from its trading businesses that could result
from adverse movements in market prices.
a. True
b. False
6. The Reigle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act allowed banks to achieve economies of scale through
nationwide interstate banking.
a. True
b. False
7. Banks that are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are also regulated by the FDIC.
a. True
b. False
8. When a bank holds a lower level of capital, a given dollar level of profits represents a lower return on equity.
a. True
b. False
9. All state banks are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System.
a. True
b. False
10. During the credit crisis, the U.S. government purchased the common stock of the largest banks in order to inject funds
into the banks and cushion their losses.
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a. True
b. False
11. Regulators put much emphasis on a bank’s sensitivity to interest rate movements, since many banks have liabilities
that are repriced more frequently than their assets and are adversely affected by rising interest rates.
a. True
b. False
12. The act of taking on more risk because of protection from adverse consequences due to the risk is referred to as a
moral hazard problem.
a. True
b. False
13. When a bank acts as an intermediary on an interest rate swap and guarantees payment in the event that one of the
parties to the swap defaults, the bank is engaging in an off-balance sheet commitment.
a. True
b. False
14. Deposit insurance now covers all bank deposits without any limit.
a. True
b. False
15. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) was enacted in response to some banks taking on too much risk.
a. True
b. False
16. Shareholders and managers of banks may prefer that banks be required to hold higher levels of capital because this
would allow for higher share prices for the banks and larger bonuses for bank managers.
a. True
b. False
17. State banks are regulated by the Comptroller of the Currency.
a. True
b. False
18. During the credit crisis, the U.S. government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) injected capital into banks by
purchasing their preferred stock to provide them with a cushion against loan losses.
a. True
b. False
19. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to make corporate managers, board members, and auditors more accountable for
the accuracy of the financial statements that their respective firms provide.
a. True
b. False
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20. Commercial banks are allowed to invest in junk bonds.
a. True
b. False
21. The Volcker Rule prohibits banks from sponsoring or holding an ownership interest in a hedge fund or a private equity
fund.
a. True
b. False
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
22. Deposit insurance has a limit of
a. $10,000.
b. $25,000.
c. $100,000.
d. $250,000.
23. The Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 prevented
a. any firm that accepts deposits from underwriting stocks and bonds of corporations.
b. any firm that accepts deposits from underwriting general obligation bonds of states and municipalities.
c. any firm that accepts deposits from holding any corporate bonds in its asset portfolio.
d. state-chartered banks from offering commercial loans.
24. The Garn-St Germain Act of 1982
a. permitted depository institutions to offer money market deposit accounts.
b. prevented depository institutions from acquiring problem institutions across geographic boundaries.
c. required the Fed to explicitly charge depository institutions for its services.
d. allowed the Fed to provide check clearing to depository institutions at no charge.
25. Which of the following was NOT a provision of the Financial Reform Act of 2010?
a. established the Financial Stability Oversight Council
b. put limits on banks’ proprietary trading
c. established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
d. reestablished the separation between banking and securities activities that had existed under the Glass-Steagall
Act
e. required derivative securities to be traded through a clearinghouse or exchange
26. Which of the following was NOT achieved by the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of
1980?
a. removed interest rate ceilings on deposits
b. allowed banks to offer NOW accounts
c. increased competition among depository institutions
d. allowed interstate banking for depository institutions in most states
27. The premiums banks pay to the FDIC for deposit insurance are
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a. the same fixed dollar amount for all banks.
b. the same fixed percentage of the bank’s deposits for all banks.
c. the same fixed percentage of the bank’s loan volume for all banks.
d. based on the risk of the bank.
28. A potential benefit of the Financial Services Modernization Act is that
a. financial institutions can reduce their reliance on the demand for a single service.
b. financial institutions can spread across state lines as a result of the act.
c. financial institutions are free to provide loans for highly leveraged transactions and thereby increase their earnings.
d. financial institutions can reduce their reliance on the demand for a single service AND financial institutions can
spread across state lines as a result of the act.
29. ____ is not a rating criterion used by bank regulators.
a. Capital adequacy
b. Savings deposit volume
c. Asset quality
d. Management
e. Liquidity
30. The Volcker Rule, named for a former Fed chair
a. is intended to increase the powers of the Fed.
b. states that the U.S. government will rescue certain large banks if necessary to reduce systemic risk in the financial
system.
c. sets limits on banks’ proprietary trading.
d. requires all banks to undergo annual stress tests.
31. The Basel framework recommends that banks maintain capital in proportion to their
a. mortgages.
b. commercial paper.
c. liabilities.
d. risk-weighted assets.
32. Federal deposit insurance
a. has existed since the 1800s.
b. was created in 1933.
c. was created after World War II.
d. was created in 1960.
33. Which banking act removed interest rate ceilings on deposits?
a. McFadden Act
b. Glass-Steagall Act
c. DIDMCA
d. Garn-St Germain Act
34. A common argument in favor of government rescues of large banks is that rescues can
a. reduce systemic risk in the financial system.
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b. encourage banks to avoid risk.
c. ensure that bank executives are properly compensated.
d. prevent the moral hazard problem.
35. A federal bank charter is issued by the
a. Comptroller of the Currency.
b. Securities and Exchange Commission.
c. U.S. Treasury.
d. Federal Reserve.
e. None of these are correct.
36. Which banking act allowed banks to cross state lines in order to acquire a failing institution?
a. McFadden Act
b. Glass-Steagall Act
c. DIDMCA
d. Garn-St Germain Act
37. A bank can increase its capital ratio by
a. buying back shares of its stock from shareholders.
b. selling assets.
c. increasing its dividend to encourage more investors to purchase its stock.
d. increasing its off-balance sheet activities.
38. National banks are regulated by ____, and state banks are regulated by ____.
a. the Comptroller of the Currency; their state agency
b. the Comptroller of the Currency; the Comptroller of the Currency
c. their state agency; their state agency
d. their state agency; the Comptroller of the Currency
39. Which banking act allowed interstate banking?
a. Reigle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act
b. Glass-Steagall Act
c. DIDMCA
d. Sarbanes-Oxley Act
40. The liquidity coverage ratio, which is measured under the Basel III guidelines, is the ratio of a bank’s _________ to its
___________.
a. liquid assets; projected net cash outflow
b. liquid assets; retained earnings
c. Tier 1 capital; liquid assets
d. projected net cash outflow; Tier 1 capital
41. ____ is NOT a characteristic used by bank regulators to rate banks.
a. Capital adequacy
b. Current stock price
c. Asset quality
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d. Management
e. All of these are used to rate banks.
42. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999
a. gave banks and other financial service firms less freedom to merge.
b. allowed financial institutions to offer a diversified set of financial services.
c. offered very few benefits to a financial institution’s clients.
d. increased the reliance of financial institutions on the demand for the single service they offer.
43. The ____ is the fund used to cover insured depositors.
a. Deposit Insurance Fund
b. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Fund
c. Bank Depository Insurance Fund
d. Financial Institution Insurance Fund
e. None of these are correct.
44. Which of the following statements is NOT correct with respect to the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999?
a. It expanded the Glass-Steagall Act.
b. It enabled commercial banks to more easily pursue securities and insurance activities.
c. It allowed securities firms and insurance companies to acquire banks.
d. It required commercial banks to have a strong rating in community lending in order to pursue additional
expansion in securities and other nonbank activities.
e. All of these are correct.
45. The Financial Reform Act (Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or Dodd-Frank Act) of 2010
a. ended the system of risk-based insurance premiums.
b. set requirements for the Deposit Insurance Fund’s reserves.
c. raised the limit for insured deposits to $750,000 per depositor.
d. allowed large insurance companies such as American International Group to compete with the FDIC to insure
bank deposits.
46. The liquidity component of the CAMELS rating refers to
a. how a bank’s earnings would change if economic conditions change.
b. how readily a bank’s management would detect its financial problems.
c. a bank’s sensitivity to financial market conditions.
d. the type of loans that a bank provides, the bank’s process for deciding whether to provide loans, and the credit
rating of debt securities that it purchases.
e. whether a bank frequently needs to borrow from outside sources, such as the federal funds market.
47. In making loans to a single customer, commercial banks ____ restricted to a maximum percentage of their capital, and
they ____ allowed to use borrowed or deposited funds to purchase common stock.
a. are; are
b. are; are not
c. are not; are
d. are not; are not
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48. Which of the following is NOT a corrective action that regulators may take when a bank is identified as a problem
bank?
a. remove particular officers and directors of the bank
b. request that the bank boost its capital level or delay its plans to expand
c. require the bank to provide additional financial information that is periodically updated to allow continued
monitoring
d. take legal action against the bank if it does not comply with their suggested remedies
e. All of these are possible corrective actions taken by bank regulators.
49. The opening of a commercial bank in the United States
a. does not require a charter.
b. always requires a charter from a state government.
c. always requires a charter from the federal government.
d. requires a charter from a state or the federal government.
e. requires a charter from both the state and federal government.
50. During the credit crisis, all of the following occurred EXCEPT
a. some securities firms were allowed to become bank holding companies.
b. the Federal Reserve rescued American International Group, an insurance company.
c. the Treasury injected funds into financial institutions.
d. the Supreme Court ruled that the Federal Reserve had exceeded its authority by assisting Bear Stearns because
Bear was a securities firm and not a commercial bank.
51. The potential risk that financial problems can spread through financial institutions and the financial system is referred
to as ________ risk.
a. systemic
b. systematic
c. unsystematic
d. market
52. The key reason for regulatory examinations (such as CAMELS ratings) is to
a. rate past performance.
b. detect problems of a bank in time to correct them.
c. check for embezzlement.
d. monitor reserve requirements.
53. Which of the following is NOT a specific criterion that regulators use to monitor banks?
a. capital adequacy
b. dollar value of fixed assets
c. asset quality
d. earnings
e. sensitivity to financial market conditions
54. The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 allowed banks to set their own
a. reserve requirements.
b. capital ratios.
c. interest rates on savings deposits.
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d. corporate loan interest rates.
55. Which banking act allowed for the creation of NOW accounts?
a. McFadden Act
b. Glass-Steagall Act
c. DIDMCA
d. Garn-St Germain Act
56. The Basel III framework proposes
a. lower capital requirements for banks to enable them to generate higher earnings to make up for their losses during
the credit crisis.
b. relying on the rating agencies to assess the risk of bank assets.
c. increased capital requirements and liquidity requirements for banks.
d. using the gap ratio to set the capital ratio.
57. All banks that are members of the Federal Reserve must hold
a. private insurance on deposits.
b. FDIC insurance on deposits.
c. both FDIC and private insurance on deposits.
d. None of these are correct.
58. Bank regulations typically
a. involve a trade-off between the safety of the banking system and the efficiency of bank operations.
b. impose restrictions on the types of assets in which banks can invest.
c. set requirements for the minimum amount of capital that banks must hold.
d. All of these are correct.
59. The moral hazard problem is minimized when deposit insurance premiums are
a. zero (not imposed by the FDIC).
b. the same for all banks.
c. set at a fixed rate for large banks and at zero for small banks.
d. based on the bank’s risk.
60. Which of the following is an “off-balance-sheet commitment”?
a. long-term debt
b. additional paid-in capital
c. notes payable
d. standby letters of credit backing commercial paper issued by firms
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Answer Key
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