Deposit Interest Rate Ceilings and Housing Credit. The Report of the President's Inter-Agency Task Force on Regulation Q

摘要

The President's Inter - Agency Task Force on Deposit Interest Rate Ceilings and Housing Credit was charged with examining the nation's deposit interest rate control system and its effects on the flow of funds to housing, the viability of depository financial institutions, the types of holders of small deposit accounts, and the overall efficiency of the nation's financial system. The Task Force found that the pace of change in the financial markets was inexorable and that the principal burdens of reform involved bringing order to that process and effecting other measures needed to make such an evolution positive. Recommendations are as follows: (1) the transition to market - determined rates of interest should occur over a sufficient period of time -- 5 to 10 years -- to allow depository institutions to adjust their asset and liability portfolios without serious interim disruptions; (2) all Federally - insured depository institutions should be authorized to offer interest - bearing transaction account services in the form of NOW accounts; (3) authorization for all Federally - chartered Savings institutions to offer variable rate mortgages with appropriate consumer safeguards is desirable; and (4) all Federally - chartered savings institutions should be permitted to invest up to 10 percent of their assets in consumer loans. Specifically, the Task Force report summarizes study findings and policy recommendations; analyzes the interrelationship of interest rate ceilings, disintermediation, and flow of funds to housing since 1966; describes the history of the current deposit interest rate control system's development; traces the evolution of public sector programs; and addresses the problem of restructuring liability powers of thrift institutions. The final section analyzes the rigidities of thrifts and alternatives for introducing greater assets flexibility. The appendix contains lists of charts and tables, along with a list of research papers submitted by Task Force members and participants.