Derivatives were at the heart of our recent financial crisis. Have we done anything to prevent this from happening again?

The final report on Financial Regulatory Reform: A New Foundation and the brief summary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act can serve as your starting points. As background, the U.S. Senate Sub-committee's reports on Wall Street and the Financial Crisis and The JPMorgan Chase Whale Trades should prove of interest and relevance.

Industry Analysis, Bank Data & Statistics:

See the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Option 1: Statistics at a Glance accesses a site for two standard recurring reports and their archives.

Option 2: Statistics on Banking accesses a site allowing you to customize reports in many different ways.

Option 3: Regional Economic Conditions (RECON) accesses a site for timely information on the housing market state-by-state.

Option 4: Historical Statistics on Banking accesses a site for longer-run perspectives on the industry. These can be customized by geographic region.

As for regulatory reforms, how about a return to yesteryear (see Madura) and no more AATW (asleep at the wheel)?

oCapital adequacy - Basel I, II and beyond

oAsset quality

oManagement capabilities

oEarnings potential

oLiquidity

oSensitivity to financial market conditions - Systemic risk

Eye-popping magnitudes:

Statistics on Banking accesses the site allowing you to customize reports

Choose Commercial Banks, National, Time Series and Assets and Liabilities then Run Report.

Scroll to the bottom of the report to view and drill further down into the use of derivatives.