Banking and Financial Services

Banks and financial service providers often seek expert guidance on regulatory compliance, ethics, insurance liability, and investment safety. RAND's commitment to objective, nonpartisan analysis has helped us to forge ongoing partnerships with national and international institutions to explore policy questions that affect infrastructure, safety, investment, compliance, and ethical aspects of the banking and financial services industries.

  • Cloud service icon with options and devices, photo by artisteer/Getty Images

    Commentary

    Too Interconnected to Fail

    The 2007–08 financial crisis made regulators and lawmakers acutely aware that some financial institutions had become too big to fail. The next big economic crisis may arise outside the financial sector, in highly networked companies that are too interconnected to fail.

    Aug 22, 2020

  • Report

    Report

    Exploring the use of Zcash cryptocurrency for illicit or criminal purposes

    To help inform public debate and decision making, RAND Europe explored the uses of cryptocurrencies for illicit or criminal purposes, focusing on the Zcash cryptocurrency, in a research project commissioned by the Electric Coin Company.

    May 6, 2020

  • Temporary closed signage is seen at a store in Manhattan following the outbreak of COVID-19, in New York City, March 15, 2020, photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters

    Commentary

    The Danger of Converting a Health Crisis into a Financial Crisis

    The impulse to do something to help businesses right now is well-intended, but lending to companies that were highly leveraged pre-crisis is a risky bet. Assistance could be best directed toward sound enterprises that are likely to survive and contribute to boosting the economy in the coming years.

    Apr 13, 2020

  • Research Brief

    Research Brief

    Systemic Risk: It's Not Just in the Financial Sector

    After a decade of focus on financial firms, new analysis using an innovative approach and new dataset shows that firms in a diverse range of sectors, such as technology and telecommunications, pose a systemic risk to the economy at large.

    Feb 3, 2020

  • Visualization of network graph, image by Jonathan William Welburn/RAND Corporation

    Report

    Systemic Risk in the Broad Economy

    After the 2008 financial crisis, research and policy focused on the risk that heavily interconnected networks could fuel the spread of economic crises—a problem known as systemic risk. A new analysis considers systemic risk in other sectors like technology, telecommunications, and health care.

    Jan 21, 2020

  • Mock Bitcoins are displayed in Berlin, January 7, 2014, photo by Pawel Kopczynski/Reuters

    Report

    Terrorist Use of Cryptocurrencies

    Counterterrorism finance strategies have reduced terrorist access to official currencies. Will terrorist groups therefore increase their use of digital cryptocurrencies? New ones have emerged, including some that claim to be more private and secure than Bitcoin, but they also have limitations that make them less viable.

    Mar 27, 2019

  • Graphic of digital integrated network technology

    Testimony

    A Close Look at Data Thieves

    What do cyberattackers do with the data they steal? And how do they monetize it? Grouping hackers by their goals, motivations, and capabilities can shed light on these questions.

    Mar 15, 2018

  • cash in wallet

    Project

    Behavioral Finance (BeFi) Forum Promotes Research on Consumer Behavior

    The RAND Behavioral Finance (BeFi) Forum is a collective of academic, financial, and government leaders who meet regularly in person and via web seminars to foster cutting-edge behavioral research for practical application. BeFi's mission is to help consumers make better financial decisions.

    Oct 24, 2017

  • Blockchain vector background with various icons

    Journal Article

    Distributed Ledger Technologies/Blockchain: Challenges, Opportunities and the Prospects for Standards

    An overview of the current landscape of DLT/Blockchain developments and the issues that are central to the development of DLT/Blockchain.

    May 11, 2017

  • Empty courtroom with scales of justice

    Commentary

    Discount Justice: Fiscal Austerity and State Courts

    Budget cuts at the state court level can mean courthouse closures, hiring freezes and layoffs, leading to longer wait times for the public. Educating the public about the role and importance of the state courts is key to preventing more budget cuts in the future.

    Apr 18, 2017

  • News Release

    News Release

    One-Fourth of American Adults Notified of Data Breach in Past Year; Few Consumers Penalize Hacked Companies

    About a quarter of American adults reported that they were notified about their personal information being part of a data breach in the previous year, but only 11 percent of those who have ever been notified say they stopped doing business with the hacked company afterwards.

    Apr 14, 2016

  • Infographic

    Infographic

    Data Theft Victims, and Their Response to Breach Notifications

    This infographic highlights the results of a study of consumer attitudes toward data breaches, notifications of those breaches, and company responses to such events.

    Apr 14, 2016

  • Woman typing into a laptop

    Report

    Few Consumers Penalize Hacked Companies for Data Breaches

    About a quarter of American adults surveyed reported that they received a data breach notification in the past year, but 77 percent of them were highly satisfied with the company's post-breach response. Only 11 percent of respondents stopped dealing with the company afterwards.

    Apr 14, 2016

  • Financial system representation

    Report

    The National Security Implications of Virtual Currency

    Could a non-state actor deploy a virtual currency to disrupt sovereignty and increase its political or economic power? How might a government or organization successfully disrupt such a deployment?

    Dec 16, 2015

  • Closing numbers are illuminated on a board above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, September 1, 2015

    Report

    Effective Disclosures in Financial Decisionmaking

    Financial service providers often have better information about their wares than consumers. Disclosure is a policy tool designed to address this by giving consumers valuable information. But it may not provide enough support in helping them make more informed decisions.

    Oct 12, 2015

  • Financial Advisor Talking To Senior Couple At Home

    Report

    Do Financial Advisers Influence Savings Behavior?

    Financial advisers can play an important role with helping individuals make better financial decisions and improving their financial situations. But does working with a financial adviser improve savings behavior, particularly saving for retirement?

    Oct 8, 2015

  • Couple Meeting With Financial Advisor In Office

    Report

    Financial Advice Markets: A Cross-Country Comparison

    This review compares financial advice markets in a cross-section of countries where regulatory changes aimed at improving the quality of financial advice have recently been made, to determine how such changes have affected them.

    Oct 8, 2015

  • Testimony

    Testimony

    A Survey of Terrorist Financing: Addendum

    Document submitted on June 12, 2015 as an addendum to testimony presented before the House Financial Services Committee, Task Force to Investigate Terrorist Financing on April 22, 2015.

    Jun 15, 2015

  • Report

    Report

    Potential Economic Effects on Individual Retirement Account Markets and Investors of DOL's Proposed Rule Concerning the Definition of a 'Fiduciary'

    This paper examines the potential effects of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration's proposed rule 29 CFR Part 2510, Definition of the Term "Fiduciary" on people with Individual Retirement Accounts.

    Apr 28, 2015

  • Members of al Qaeda's Nusra Front man a checkpoint in Idlib, Syria, March 30, 2015

    Testimony

    Breaking the Bank: Undermining Terrorist Financing

    Undermining the financing of terrorist groups must be done as part of a broader effort to undermine terrorist ideology. Policies should focus on the most significant threats to the United States and utilize tools that target the ways these groups finance themselves.

    Apr 22, 2015

Research conducted by