From the late nineteenth century to the late twentieth century the European banking sector experienced countless mergers and acquisitions. The outcome of this century of consolidation is strikingly similar across the continent, with the banking sector of each country now dominated by a handful of giant banking corporations. Consolidation and concentration trends in banking was the theme of the Academic Archive Colloquium of the European Association for Banking History held in Madrid in June 1997. This volume is comprised of the 18 papers and responses presented at the Colloquium by a truly international group of delegates. Some of the themes explored in the book include: the significance of mergers for bank archives; the regulation of mergers and their impact on banking legislation; reactions to consolidation from within and without the banking industry; case studies of particular mergers and their impact on the wider banking community. Youssef Cassis's introductory chapter provides a general survey of trends in the consolidation process and suggests that the advent of the Euro may herald a new era in the history of European banking consolidation.

This book clarifies some misunderstandings about money by tying the concept of money to the goods and services sector of the economy. In addition, it demystifies the process of money creation on the part of central banks. The phenomenon of money is ubiquitous; it has been around for tens of thousands of years, if not longer. Indeed, no modern economy could function without money. For many, however, the concept of money remains elusive. Worse still, misinformation abounds, which leaves the uninitiated vulnerable to fraud. This lack of understanding has serious policy implications as well. When policymakers lack a firm grasp of the concept, policy is likely to be flawed and its effects are likely to be detrimental to the body politic. After providing a brief history of money, the author details the role of money in the division of labor and specialization, in economic growth, and in an interconnected world. Throughout the book, he points out the pitfalls of fallacious thinking. In recent policy debates, such thinking has led to proposals ranging from the re-institution of the gold standard to supplying limitless money as suggested by Modern Monetary Theory.

In the early years of Arbuthnot & Latham, it prospered greatly as a merchant of produce from India. It soon branched out into finance and lending and by the end of its first 100 years, Arbuthnot belonged to that distinctive breed of 'merchant banks', the City's elite, enjoying the special patronage of the Bank of England. But war and the huge upheavals that shook up the City in the 20th century forced drastic change upon Arbuthnot. As a small family-owned bank it was not suited to the evolving world of international capital. In 1981, the family decided the time had come to sell out. Arbuthnot was soon fortunate to find a buyer who prized its long history and banking excellence and under Henry Angest, a Swiss banker, Arbuthnot recovered and thrived. This corporate history highlights the enduring attributes of Arbuthnot Bank that have enabled it to survive through the years of credit crunch and flourish as a merchant bank whose name continues to provide a secure and high-quality service for its clients.

The Mercantile Bank of India was one of a small band of British-managed banks which dominated Anglo-Eastern finance for most of the 20th century. Founded in London in 1893, the Mercantile inherited the business, branches, staff and even the distinctive cable address - Paradise, London - of its forerunner the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London and China. In the early 1900s the Mercantile Bank re-established a strong and quietly successful business in the East. After the First World War the Mercantile played a prominent part in banking development in Malaya. In addition to maintaining its support for the trade of the Indian sub-continent, the bank also enjoyed success in Shanghai. Like its major rivals, the Hongkong Bank, Chartered Bank and the National Bank of India, the Mercantile Bank suffered grievously during the Second World War. In the post-war world it needed both to adapt to massive political change throughout the East and to diversify into new markets and new types of business. In 1959 the Mercantile became a subsidiary of the Hongkong Bank and this book explores the complex, high-level negotiations in London and the East which preceded the acquisition. Although the Mercantile Bank was fully absorbed in 1984 by the Hongkong Bank (now part of the HSBC Group), its history, business and personnel remained an important thread in the traditions of the enlarged group. This history deploys the extensive and colourful archives of the Mercantile Bank, together with the memoirs of former officials and their families. The book is plentifully illustrated from the photograph collections of the Mercantile Bank and former members of its staff.

In response to the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, central banks have used all available instruments in their monetary policy tool-kit to avoid financial market disruptions and a collapse in real economic activities. These actions have expanded the size of their balance sheets and altered the composition of the asset-side. This edited book highlights how these assets are managed, providing an intellectual and practical contribution to an under-researched field of central bank responsibilities. It first reviews the sources and uses of domestic and international assets and how they complement-or possibly conflict with-the implementation of monetary policy goals. Next, the book examines the asset management mandate in a balance sheet context before turning to the investment decision-making process from strategic and tactical asset allocation to investment strategies, risk management, governance, reporting and control. Finally, it presents new developments in the field of managing assets at central banks. The individual chapters are written by central bankers, academics, and representatives from International Financial Institutions, each representing a particular aspect of the asset management practice. Practical and powerful insights from a hall of fame of investors, central bankers and scholars, are packed into this one volume. If you could have only one book on central bank asset management, this would be it. -Peter R. Fisher, Clinical Professor, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth Jacob Bjorheim draws on his long experience in sovereign asset management to pull together a rich collection of insights from a broad range of expertise. Asset management at central banks has evolved and expanded considerably over the past decade. This book is a timely source of information and guidance. -Guy Debelle, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of Australia Central bank balance sheets have grown at a tremendous pace over the last decade and a half. Drawing on contributions from scholars and experienced central bankers from around the world, this timely and insightful book sheds light on how central banks are, and should be, managing their growing balance sheets. -Kjell G. Nyborg, Chaired Professor of Finance, University of Zurich, Author of Collateral Frameworks: The Open Secret of Central Banks Central banks and monetary authorities are charged with, and being held accountable for, managing portfolios of foreign currency assets of unprecedented size. The essays in this admirable book, written by some of the worlds most highly experienced officials, cover the full range of why and how this is currently being done and how new developments are affecting old practices. Interesting conceptually and immensely useful practically. -William White, Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute, former Head of the Monetary and Economic Department with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and chairman of the Economic and Development Review Committee at the OECD An excellent and timely review of modern international reserve management, which ought to be read by everyone working with, or simply interested in, international asset management and finance as well as monetary and economic policy. The spectrum of authors is broad and their combined insight is very valuable. -Tom A. Fearnley, Investment Director, Norwegian Ministry of Finance With "Asset Management at Central Banks and Monetary Authorities", Jacob Bjorheim has achieved an editorial tour de force. The book assembles the insightful views of the leading experts in the field, both from an academic and practitioners' perspective. It bridges the gap between the macroeconomics of central banks and the financial management of their reserves. A must read to understand how central banks are special in the group of institutional investors. -Eric Bouye, Head of Asset Allocation and Quantitative Strategies, Treasury Department, The World Bank The balance sheet is a large and important toolbox for any central bank and specifically the foreign exchange reserves constitute one the more powerful of these tools. This book provides excellent insight in the various perspectives of managing reserves at a central bank. -Heidi Elmer, Director of Markets Department, Severiges Riksbank The world of international reserves has changed since the global financial crisis. In this volume, Jacob Bjorheim has assembled a stellar cast of experts to explain how and what that means for reserves management. With chapter authors like Andrew Ang, Jennifer Johnson-Calari, Robert McCauley, Ravi Menon, Simon Potter and Philip Turner, it is a book that every reserve manager must read. -Eli Remolona, Professor of Finance and Director of Central Banking, Asia School of Business in collaboration with MIT Sloan Jacob Bjorheim has succeeded in bringing together a first-class team of experts, and organising their contributions in an articulated journey from the central banks' policy mandate to their asset management practices. An indispensable post-crisis update of the subject and a a required reading for anyone professionally involved with central bank's asset management, or simply curious about a topic benefitting otherwise from limited research. -Louis de Montpellier, Former Global Head, Official Institutions Group, SSGA, and former Deputy Head, Banking Department, Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Basel At last, a book that shares with a wider audience, deep insight in a unique, challenging and ethical approach of asset management developed and implemented in the secretive world of central banks. If you wonder how to manage funds that stand ready for use at short notice in times of stress then this book is for you. Two features make it such a valuable read and a must-have reference: First, the very comprehensive list of themes covered from a rich diversity of angles. Second, the very impressive list of prominent institutions and authors that have contributed and shared their analysis and practical approaches of the issues presented. What is better than to get the information directly from first-hand practitioners, experts and managers themselves in their own words? -Jean-Pierre Matt, Former Head of Financial Analysis at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and founder of Quanteis This book holds the promise to become the go-to guide for anyone wishing to learn more about the management of official foreign exchange reserves. Central bankers in particular, but also those providing services to central banks, will find benefit from the broad scope in subject matter and varied perspectives being presented. I am yet to see a compendium on official reserve management with similar reach in subject matter. -Leon Myburgh, Former Head Financial Markets Department, South African Reserve Bank (SARB), Pretoria This is an immensely timely book at a time when central bank operations, and their balance sheets, remain "larger for longer". Following the Financial Crisis 10 years ago, and with the Covid-19 Recession about to break, central bank balance sheets are at the forefront of the authorities' response to economic issues as never before. Yet the management of their now large-scale assets remains a little known and little studied area. The authors of this book combine extensive technical and practical experience, and their observations will fill an important gap in the literature at a critical time. -Freyr Hermannsson, Former Head of Treasury, Central Bank of Iceland, Reykjavik

In a world of increasing cross-border financial transactions, The Bank for International Settlements stands out as the oldest existing international financial institution and among the most controversial. For many it is a mystery: What does it actually do? For others it poses an ethical dilemma: What DID it do to aid the Nazis during World War II? Baker examines the history, administration, evolution, and operations of this reclusive institution. He discusses the work of its permanent committees, such as the Basle Concordats of 1975 and 1983 and the Basle Capital Accords of 1988 and 2001. Among other products and services he notes The BIS's studies of the use of derivatives by banks, its analysis of payment and settlement systems worldwide, and its supervision of the insurance and investment banking businesses. Then, in a cool and balanced appraisal, he looks at the Bank's operations during World War II, its relationship with the Nazis in their gold and foreign exchange transactions. Throughout, he underlines the importance of The BIS and its value in maintaining stability of the international monetary system. The result is a major academic study, a work of special interest to scholars, teachers, and students, and an important, readable, engrossing account for finance and investment professionals as well.

The China Business Model: Originality and Limits emphasizes transformation of the Chinese Business Model over the last decades. The impact of the financial crisis on China helps the reader understand its evolution towards capitalism. Topics covered include CSR, leadership, and management in China, how do these organizations impact the performance of companies, the financing policy of Chinese firms and its evolution till the slowdown, finance and business in China, and how could the banking sector and/or the financial markets help the development of Chinese companies?

Central banks are major players in today's economic and financial policy-making. While respected for their technical acumen and their pivotal role in defusing the global financial crisis, they are at the same time mistrusted by others and considered to be too powerful. In order to contribute to a better understanding of the why, what and how of central banking, this book traces the progress of central banks from modest beginnings, including financing wars, to the powerful institutions they have become. It describes the evolution of the Bank of England to a fully-fledged central bank, the very different route taken by the Federal Reserve and, much later, by the European Central Bank. The gold standard, floating exchange rates, and the battle against inflation are covered in depth, alongside a review of modern monetary policy and central banks' role in maintaining financial stability. Throughout the book, the ups and downs of central banks' relationship vis-a-vis their governments are a recurring theme, even surmising that reigning in the independence of central banks risks inflicting serious damage to economic and financial stability. Uncovering the challenges that the money masters may face in an uncertain future, this book will be of interest to academics, researchers, and practitioners in central banking, finance, and economics at large.

This book features an in-depth comparative study of South American National Development Bank's governance systems. It explores the relationship between bank governance and performance frameworks, both in terms of financial-economic indicators and development impact. It seeks to observe, analyze, and compare governance arrangements used by different development banks as tools to overcome the challenges associated with state-ownership while remaining financially sustainable and aligned with their policy mandates.

This book analyzes the banking crisis and the events surrounding it in Hungary and other emerging EU member countries in 2007-2013. Written by Julia Kiraly, a former policymaker, and the Deputy Governor of the Hungarian Central Bank at the time of the crisis, it also offers a firsthand account of the processes in and responses to the financial crisis. While there is extensive literature on the crisis, most of it focuses on the US or the Eurozone, sometimes mentioning the "emerging world" in passing. However, Central and Eastern Europe experienced the crisis very differently than other emerging countries. In the pre-crisis years, the region in accession to the EU attracted abundant fresh capital, but the seemingly unconstrained global liquidity fuelled credit bubbles. After the Lehman crisis, capital rapidly fled these countries. In this part of the world, the recession proved to be much worse than elsewhere, with double-digit growth soon turning into a double-digit decline in GDP. Several countries had to turn to the IMF and the EU for stand-by credit. Based on her own inside experience as a top central banker, the author offers a personal yet professional analysis of the causes and consequences of the financial hurricane.

This book presents a wide range of tools and techniques used in entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets. Among them, venture capital is perhaps the best known, understood, and researched mode of entrepreneurial finance. However, a significant focus of the book is dedicated to other modes of entrepreneurial finance such as 'bootstrapping,' angel financing, bank financing, and other alternative means of financing, which could include government assistance programs, business incubation, technology parks, or family financing. In addition, the book highlights how new and innovative financial technologies (comprised of software, business processes, and other modern technologies), known under the term of FinTech, may support, enable, and enhance the provision of different modes of entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets. The book also discusses entrepreneurial finance in emerging markets in the context of women entrepreneurs. A comprehensive analysis of entrepreneurial finance in emerging market countries, this book will appeal to academics, researchers, and students of entrepreneurial finance, venture capital and private equity, entrepreneurship, and international business.

Stress Testing and Risk Integration in Banks provides a comprehensive view of the risk management activity by means of the stress testing process. An introduction to multivariate time series modeling paves the way to scenario analysis in order to assess a bank resilience against adverse macroeconomic conditions. Assets and liabilities are jointly studied to highlight the key issues that a risk manager needs to face. A multi-national bank prototype is used all over the book for diving into market, credit, and operational stress testing. Interest rate, liquidity and other major risks are also studied together with the former to outline how to implement a fully integrated risk management toolkit. Examples, business cases, and exercises worked in Matlab and R facilitate readers to develop their own models and methodologies.

This book is a study of power. In particular, it is a study of governmental power in Britain and France. Its focus is the changing relationship between the government and the central bank in the two countries, and it examines the politics of this relationship since the time when the Bank of England and the Bank of France were first created.
The book begins by considering the issue of governmental control generally. It then focuses on monetary policy making, and asks what has been the role of governments in this area and what freedom have central banks enjoyed? After a detailed historical analysis of this issue in Britain and France, the authors conclude by considering the likely role of the European Central Bank.

The banking and financial sector has expanded dramatically in the last forty years, and the consequences of this accelerated growth have been felt by people around the world. European Banks and the Rise of International Finance examines the historical origins of the financialised world we live in by analysing the transformations in world finance which occurred in the decade from the first oil crisis of 1973, until the debt crisis of 1982. This a crucial and formative decade for understanding the modern financial landscape, but it is still mostly unexplored in economic and financial history. The availability of new archival evidence has allowed for the re-examination of issues such as the progressive privatisation of international financial flows to Less Developed Countries, especially in Latin America and South-East Asia, and its impact on the expansion of the European banking sector, and for the development of an invaluable financial and political history. This book is well suited for those interested in monetary economics and economic history, as well as those studying international political economy, banking history and Financial history.

This book describes how the rapid advancement in encryption and network computing gave birth to new tools and products that have influenced the local and global economy alike. One recent and notable example is the emergence of virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin) also known as cryptocurrencies. Virtual currencies introduced a fundamental transformation that affected the way goods, services and assets are exchanged. As a result of its distributed ledgers based on blockchain, cryptocurrencies not only offer some unique advantages to the economy, investors, and consumers, but also pose considerable risks to users and challenges for regulators when fitting the new technology into the old legal framework. The core of this proposed book is to present and discuss the evidence on financial asset capabilities of virtual currencies. The contributors of this volume analyze several interesting and timely issues such as the particularities of virtual currencies and their statistical characteristics; the diversification benefits of virtual currencies; the behavior and dependence structure between virtual currencies and the financial markets; the economic implications of virtual currencies, their effects, their price risk, and contagion spillovers in a unified and comprehensive framework; the future of virtual currencies and their distributed ledgers technology.

Handbook of Frontier Markets: The European and African Evidence provides novel insights from academic perspectives about the behavior of investors and prices in several frontier markets. It explores finance issues usually reserved for developed and emerging markets in order to gauge whether these issues are relevant and how they manifest themselves in frontier markets. Frontier markets have now become a popular investment class among institutional investors internationally, with major financial services providers establishing index-benchmarks for this market-category. The anticipation for frontier markets is optimistic uncertainty, and many people believe that, given their growth rates, these markets will be economic success stories. Irrespective of their degrees of success, The Handbook of Frontier Markets can help ensure that the increasing international investment diverted to them will aid in their greater integration within the global financial system.

The essential guide to global sukuk markets worldwide Sukuk Securities provides complete information and guidance on the latest developments in the burgeoning sukuk securities markets. Written by leading Islamic finance experts, this essential guide offers insight into the concepts, design features, contract structures, yields, and payoffs in all twelve global sukuk markets, providing Islamic finance professionals with an invaluable addition to their library. The first book to fully introduce the market, this book provides a detailed overview of the sukuk market, with practical guidance toward applying these instruments in real-world scenarios. Readers will learn how sukuk securities are regulated and the issues that arise from regulations, and gain insight into the foundation and principles of Islamic finance as applied to these instruments. Extensive tables illustrate t-test comparisons between conventional bonds and sukuk, risk factors, and the issuance of different types of sukuk securities by country to give readers a deeper understanding of the markets. In 2010, the World Bank recommended sukuk as the best form of lending for growth in developing countries; since then, the value of new issues has grown at 45 percent per year. The market's present size is close to US $1,200 billion, with private markets in major financial centers like London, Zurich, and New York. This book provides comprehensive guidance toward understanding and using these instruments, and working within these markets. Get acquainted with the sukuk market, definitions, classification, and pricing Learn the different approaches to structuring and contract design Discover how sukuk is applied, including regulations, ratings, and securitization Examine payoff structures and suggested sukuk valuation in the context of Islamic finance principles With the sukuk market growing the way it is, regulators, investors, and students need to fully understand the mechanisms at work. Sukuk Securities is the complete guide to the sukuk markets, with expert insight. July 2014 saw the first sukuk listing in London. Hong Kong and Seoul have also entered this niche market. Predictions are that there will be continued high growth of sukuk debt markets around the world, all providing targeted funding via sukuk contracting modes.

First Published in 1970. A reprinting of the original collection of essays, from 1932 which begins with two essays describing French Monetary Policy and the Wall Street Speculation and Crisis of 1929. Moving onto an essay on Consumer's Income and Outlay and then the titular essay the art of central banking, looking at how a central bank is entrusted with the regulation of credit and money.

This book focuses on Fintech regulation in Asian, situating local developments in broader economic, regulatory and technological contexts. Over the last decade, Fintech - broadly defined as the use of new information technologies to help financial institutions and intermediaries compete in the marketplace - has disrupted the financial services sector. Like other 21st century technological developments, Fintech is a global phenomenon that plays out in local economic, political and regulatory contexts, and this dynamic interplay between global trends and local circumstances has created a complex and fast-changing landscape. Diverse stakeholders (most obviously incumbent financial service providers, tech start-ups and regulators) all pursue a competitive edge against a background of profound uncertainty about the future direction and possible effects of multiple emerging technologies. Compounding these difficulties are uncertainties surrounding regulatory responses. Policymakers often struggle to identify appropriate regulatory responses and increasingly turn to policy experimentation. Such issues add to the challenges for the various actors operating in the Fintech space. This situation is particularly fluid in Asia, since many jurisdictions are seeking to establish themselves as a regional hub for new financial services.

The set is significant both in the development of the theory of banking and in terms of documenting the history of banking in the United States. It examines the development of banking in the United States in the first half of the nineteenth century. When Congress first tried to introduce a unified currency to finance a national army it failed because of the large number of counterfeit notes in circulation. Similarly two attempts to set up a central bank resulted in bankruptcy. Even after the Mint was set up, the Federal government's theoretical monopoly over coinage did not stop states from using their charter to set up note issuing banks. The resulting corruption and fraud let to experiments in regulation and a system of "free banking." The material included examines such issues as the role of a central bank, banking regulation, banks and the money supply.

Contemporary Issues in Financial Services special edition includes studies by the University of Malta, MSc Banking and Finance graduates and the respective lecturers, on financial services within particular countries or regions and studies of particular themes such as credit risk management, fund management and evaluation, forex hedging using derivatives and sovereign fixed income portfolios.

To live in today's world, you need money; yet the majority of people do not have access to it. The formal financial system is taken for granted, but it also represents the barrier to financial inclusion. This book highlights 13 game changers who are thinking outside of the financial box. These organizations are acting on behalf of the excluded people that are unable to live their lives to the fullest. They are seeking to revolutionize the financial sector and aiming for financial inclusion for all. In analysing the innovative and inclusive solutions of these game changers, the book delivers vital lessons through a framework of five key levers for change in order to reimagine our financial system. Awareness and support for a more sustainable and inclusive world has never been higher and financial inclusion is a key element of this global issue facing modern society today.

This book provides a comprehensive summary of the latest academic research on the important topic of too-big-to-fail (TBTF) in banking. It explains TBTF from various perspectives including the range of regulatory measures proposed to counter TBTF, most notably the globally accepted regulation of global-systemically important banks (G-SIBs) and its main tool of capital surcharges. The empirical analysis quantifies the shareholder value of the G-SIB attribution by using quarterly observations from more than 750 global banks between Q2 2008 and Q3 2015. The main finding is that G-SIBs are confronted with a substantial relative valuation discount compared to non-G-SIBs. From the end of 2011 until the end of 2015, a stable discount of 0.6x-0.8x price-to-tangible common equity (P/TCE) is statistically highly significant. The results suggest that the G-SIB designation effect, which positively impacts G-SIBs' share prices because of funding benefits from IGGs, is dominated by the regulatory G-SIB burden effect, which negatively impacts G-SIBs' share prices because of lower profitability due to capital surcharges and other regulatory requirements placed on G-SIBs. The findings re-open the debate about whether breaking up G-SIBs would unlock shareholder value and whether G-SIBs are regulated efficiently.

Endorsed by the Chartered Banker Institute as core reading for its professional qualifications, Culture, Conduct and Ethics in Banking emphasizes the importance of professionalism for banks, and explores how all staff play a key role in putting customers at the heart of their business. Taking an applied approach, it aims to develop the reader's capability to: recognize and contribute towards balanced outcomes for consumers and organizations; understand the impact of reputational deficit; and understand the personal impact of an individual in the workplace. From a discussion of the main branches of ethical thinking to an overview of regulation and legislation in the UK and internationally, this book covers the theory and practice of conduct and professionalism in banking. Chapters contain activities and industry case studies, and further reading and viewing suggestions are included to help develop a deeper understanding of the topics covered. With fully referenced discussion of conflicts of interest, decision making models, the role of professional bodies, corporate governance, conduct risk management and the Global Financial Crisis 2007-08, Culture, Conduct and Ethics in Banking is the essential guide for finance professionals.

This proceedings book presents selected papers from the 10th international conference on the "Economies of the Balkan and Eastern European Countries in the Changing World" (EBEEC), held in Warsaw, Poland, in May 2018. In addition to discussing the latest research, it includes papers adopting a wide variety of theoretical approaches and empirical methodologies and covering a number of key areas, such as international economics, economic growth, finance and banking, insurance, healthcare, agriculture, labor and energy markets, innovation, management and marketing. In addition, the authors discuss policy instruments and best practices for the region. This book appeals to scholars and students in fields of economics and finance as well as practitioners interested in the development of the region.