Dodd-Frank Is Crushing Community Banks, Suggests New Study -- But Is It That Simple?

"Don't look now, but there's something funny going on at the bank, George." Thus small-town banker George Bailey, portrayed by James Stewart in the 1941 classic It's a Wonderful Life, learns of a run on his family bank. In the scene that follows, Bailey manages to assuage a mass of panicked townspeople, addressing them by name as he underscores the deep interconnection of bank and community. "Your money's in Joe's house," he tells one spooked depositor. "That's right next to yours, and then the ...