Is government regulation of banks necessary?

Banks have been involved with and regulated by governments for hundreds of years. Following a brief review of this history, I delineate nine reasons t hat could justify continued regulation, particularly in the United States. These include deposit insurance, preventing banks from obtaining excessive economic power, reducing the cost of individual bank insolvency, avoiding t he effects of bank failures on the economy, protecting the payments system, serving the interests of popularly elected officials, enhancing the Federa l Reserve's control over the money supply, suppressing competition, and pro tecting consumers. Analysis of each leads me to conclude that deposit insur ance, which allows banks to hold insufficient capital, is the only public-p olicy-justifiable rationale for regulation. This concern can be managed wit h capital requirements; otherwise, banks should only be regulated as are ot her corporations.