The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, published by the U.S. Government and the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in early 2011, is the official government report on the United States financial collapse and the review of major financial institutions that bankrupted and failed, or would have without help from the government. The commission and the report were implemented after Congress passed an act in 2009 to review and prevent fraudulent activity. The report details, among other things, the periods before, during, and after the crisis, what led up to it, and analyses of subprime mortgage lending, credit expansion and banking policies, the collapse of companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the federal bailouts of Lehman and AIG. It also discusses the aftermath of the fallout and our current state. This report should be of interest to anyone concerned about the financial situation in the U.S. and around the world.THE FINANCIAL CRISIS INQUIRY COMMISSION is an independent, bi-partisan, government-appointed panel of 10 people that was created to "examine the causes, domestic and global, of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States." It was established as part of the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009. The commission consisted of private citizens with expertise in economics and finance, banking, housing, market regulation, and consumer protection. They examined and reported on "the collapse of major financial institutions that failed or would have failed if not for exceptional assistance from the government."News Dissector DANNY SCHECHTER is a journalist, blogger and filmmaker. He has been reporting on economic crises since the 1980's when he was with ABC News. His film In Debt We Trust warned of the economic meltdown in 2006. He has since written three books on the subject including Plunder: Investigating Our Economic Calamity (Cosimo Books, 2008), and The Crime Of Our Time: Why Wall Street Is Not Too Big to Jail (Disinfo Books, 2011), a companion to his latest film Plunder The Crime Of Our Time. He can be reached online at www.newsdissector.com.

Provides an in-depth overview of the Federal Reserve System, including information about monetary policy and the economy, the Federal Reserve in the international sphere, supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs and services offered by Reserve Banks. Contains several appendixes, including a brief explanation of Federal Reserve regulations, a glossary of terms, and a list of additional publications.

This guide, prepared by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), is intended to provide an introduction to tribal ownership of national banks. The OCC encourages tribes and national banks to consult with counsel familiar with banking law, federal Indian law, and tribal law, as appropriate, to obtain specific advice on chartering, acquiring, or operating a national bank.

In the wake of the financial crises of the late 1990s, there was a surge of interest in the systematic assessment of financial sectors, with a view to identifying vulnerabilities and evaluating the sector's developmental needs. Consequently, there has been an increased demand from financial sector authorities in many countries for information on key issues and sound practices in the assessment of financial systems and the appropriate design of policy responses. In response, Financial Sector Assessmsnet presents a general analytical framework and broad guidance on approaches, methodologies and key techniques for assessing the stability and development needs of financial systems. It synthesizes current global sound practices in financial sector assessment.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's (OCC) Comptroller's Handbook booklet, "Retail Lending," is prepared for use by OCC examiners in connection with their examination and supervision of national banks and federal savings associations (collectively, banks). Each bank is different and may present specific issues. Accordingly, examiners should apply the information in this booklet consistent with each bank's individual circumstances. When it is necessary to distinguish between them, national banks and federal savings associations are referred to separately. This booklet discusses risks associated with retail lending and provides a framework for evaluating risk management activities. This booklet supplements the core assessment in the "Large Bank Supervision," "Community Bank Supervision," and "Federal Branches and Agencies Supervision" booklets of the Comptroller's Handbook. Examiners should use this "Retail Lending" booklet when specific retail credit products, services, or risks warrant review beyond the core assessment. This booklet's objective is to consider risk management practices fundamental to retail lending and common across product types. Additional product-specific considerations may apply. For example, certain lending and risk management practices relevant to particular products are described in other booklets of the Comptroller's Handbook, including "Residential Real Estate Lending," "Mortgage Banking," "Credit Card Lending," "Student Lending," and "Installment Lending." Specific consumer protection laws and regulations applicable to retail lending are discussed in the Consumer Compliance booklets of the Comptroller's Handbook.