Can Banking and Commerce Mix?

Abstract

The mixture of banking and commerce is hardly a revolutionary concept. Banking and commerce have been mixed in the United States since the birth of the republic, and they remain mixed today. The key questions therefore are: Should banking and commerce be permitted to continue to mix? If so,how should they be permitted to mix, and what regulation, ifany, isrequired whenthey do mix? These are the questions for which this paper attempts to frame answers.