This paper presents new data and measures of bank regulatory and supervisory policies in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011. The data include responses to hundreds of questions on permissible bank activities, capital requirements, supervisory powers, information disclosure, external governance, deposit insurance, entry barriers, and loan provisioning. The dataset also provides information on the organization of regulatory agencies and the size, structure, and performance of banking systems. To facilitate cross-country comparisons and analyses, summary indices of key regulatory and supervisory policies are constructed. The data are based on four surveys conducted by the World Bank. The first survey, completed in 1999, covered 118 countries and included over 300 questions. The second survey, released in 2003, covered 151 countries and included over 400 questions. The third survey, posted in 2007, covered 142 countries. The fourth survey, released in 2012, covered 125 countries. The combined data cover 180 countries. The dataset differs from the World Bank's survey responses in two key ways. First, it includes a detailed review of inconsistencies and missing values. Second, it constructs summary indices of major categories of bank regulatory and supervisory policies. These indices summarize notable aspects of bank regulation and supervision, including capital, ownership, bank activities, entry of new banks, supervisory powers, private monitoring, deposit insurance, loan provisioning, and other areas. The dataset provides information on the organization of regulatory agencies and the size and structure of the banking system. It documents whether there is a single regulator or multiple regulators and whether countries authorize their central banks to play a key role in bank supervision. It also documents the size of each country’s banking system, the concentration of the system, and the role of government-owned and foreign-owned banks. The dataset facilitates analyses of the relationships among the organization of national banking authorities, the details of financial regulation and supervision, and the size and structure of the banking system. Researchers can easily combine these data with other datasets to explore the factors that explain banking sector policies and the consequences of those policies for various outcomes. The paper provides a wealth of cross-country and cross-time comparisons. It analyzes changes in bank regulatory and supervisory practices over time, examines the degree to which banking policies have converged across countries, and documents how the organization of bank regulatory authorities and the size and structure of the banking system differ around the world. Although there is some convergence along some dimensions of bank regulation, there remains substantial heterogeneity in policies, organization, and structure.This paper presents new data and measures of bank regulatory and supervisory policies in 180 countries from 1999 to 2011. The data include responses to hundreds of questions on permissible bank activities, capital requirements, supervisory powers, information disclosure, external governance, deposit insurance, entry barriers, and loan provisioning. The dataset also provides information on the organization of regulatory agencies and the size, structure, and performance of banking systems. To facilitate cross-country comparisons and analyses, summary indices of key regulatory and supervisory policies are constructed. The data are based on four surveys conducted by the World Bank. The first survey, completed in 1999, covered 118 countries and included over 300 questions. The second survey, released in 2003, covered 151 countries and included over 400 questions. The third survey, posted in 2007, covered 142 countries. The fourth survey, released in 2012, covered 125 countries. The combined data cover 180 countries. The dataset differs from the World Bank's survey responses in two key ways. First, it includes a detailed review of inconsistencies and missing values. Second, it constructs summary indices of major categories of bank regulatory and supervisory policies. These indices summarize notable aspects of bank regulation and supervision, including capital, ownership, bank activities, entry of new banks, supervisory powers, private monitoring, deposit insurance, loan provisioning, and other areas. The dataset provides information on the organization of regulatory agencies and the size and structure of the banking system. It documents whether there is a single regulator or multiple regulators and whether countries authorize their central banks to play a key role in bank supervision. It also documents the size of each country’s banking system, the concentration of the system, and the role of government-owned and foreign-owned banks. The dataset facilitates analyses of the relationships among the organization of national banking authorities, the details of financial regulation and supervision, and the size and structure of the banking system. Researchers can easily combine these data with other datasets to explore the factors that explain banking sector policies and the consequences of those policies for various outcomes. The paper provides a wealth of cross-country and cross-time comparisons. It analyzes changes in bank regulatory and supervisory practices over time, examines the degree to which banking policies have converged across countries, and documents how the organization of bank regulatory authorities and the size and structure of the banking system differ around the world. Although there is some convergence along some dimensions of bank regulation, there remains substantial heterogeneity in policies, organization, and structure.