Relative to the U.K., for example, we have many more depositories (on the order of 25,000 or so) and they operate with more regulatory restrictions on their activities than in the U.K. and many other countries. Also, our system of deposit insurance is more generous than in the U.K.
Bearing these differences in mind, I will attempt to address aspects of our subject today that apply more or less generically in all countries, but I will draw on U.S. experiences for illustrations. To begin, let me say that I found the seemingly simple question “Are banks still special?” to be deceptively difficult.