Following the financial crisis, regulations were implemented by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to monitor banks and reduce the probability of future banking crises. This dissertation uses bank and macroeconomic data to analyze the effectiveness of these regulations on bank lending and household leverage. It also provides an analysis of related regional economic growth, and the potential public policy implications. The spatial effects of the crisis and recession are analyzed at the metropolitan statistical area level, as areas of the country were affected differently regarding employment and firm growth following the recession. The main goal of this dissertation is to conclude whether the regulations implemented post-crisis have had a positive effect on bank lending and on firm and employment growth, and whether there have been differences in economic outcomes across the regions of the United States. The second chapter examines the impact of capital ratios on bank lending. The results suggest that increased capital ratios are only beneficial in times of economic distress. The third chapter looks at consumer bank deposits in relation to household leverage in the periods surrounding the crisis. The results indicate that household leverage decreased prior to the implementation of regulations, suggesting that the regulations were less beneficial than expected in decreasing household leverage. The fourth chapter analyzes employment and firm growth relative to commercial real estate loan growth. The results suggest that both employment growth and firm growth were stronger post-regulation, and that different types of regions experienced different levels of growth. Overall, results show that post-crisis banking regulations are less effective than intended.