Bank Insolvency, Deposit Insurance, and Capital Adequacy

This paper extends the Dowd (2000) model by introducing a risky investment technology. This assumption allows to introduce the possibility of an insolvency crisis. A banker may earn a positive expected profit by insuring depositors against the technological risk. If the bank has adequate capital, the insurance is credible and an insolvency crisis cannot occur. A public safety net may be unnecessary to prevent insolvency crises.