A classic history of banking and trade in the medieval period, combining superb research and analysis with graceful writing.

The Medici Bank was the most powerful banking house of the 15th century. Headquartered in Florence, Italy, it established branches in Rome, Venice, Geneva, Lyons, Bruges, London, and many other cities. The bank served as financial agent of the Church, extended credit to monarchs, and facilitated international trade in Western Europe. By their personal influence and the use of their profits, the owners and administrators of the bank contributed significantly to the development of Florence as the greatest center of the Renaissance.

This study examines the failure of the Franklin National Bank and the international banking crisis of 1974-1975. It discusses the changes in banking regulation and practice which contributed to Franklin's problems and explores how regulators in the U.S. and abroad coped with the threat to the safety and soundness of the international banking system. The study explains how the failure of the Franklin National Bank and the Herstatt Bank forced bank regulators and policy makers to address the new international nature of banking and to work together to address the dramatic changes in international financial markets. Such international cooperation to manage bank crises and to set common standards will help to prevent financial crises in the future. The book also addresses an interesting undercurrent in the Franklin Bank: the involvement of the mysterious Italian financier Michele Sindona.

The injustices committed against millions of Europe's Jews did not end with the fall of the Third Reich. Long after the Nazis had seized the belongings of Holocaust victims, Swiss banks concealed and appropriated their assets, demanding that their survivors produce the death certificates or banking records of the depositors in order to claim their family's property--demands that were usually impossible for the petitioners to meet. Now the full account of the Holocaust deposits affair is revealed by the journalist who first broke the story in 1995. Relying on archival and contemporary sources, Itamar Levin describes the Jewish people's decades-long effort to return death camp victims' assets to their rightful heirs. Levin also uncovers the truth about the behavior of Swiss banking institutions, their complicity with the Nazis, and their formidable power over even their own neutral government.

From the first attempt to settle the fate of German property in neutral countries at the Potsdam Conference in 1945, through the heated negotiations following publication of Levin's investigative article in 1995, to the Swiss banks' ultimate agreement to a $1.25 billion payment in 1997, the pursuit of restitution is a story of delaying tactics and legal complications of almost unimaginable dimensions. Terrified that the traditional and highly marketable wall of secrecy surrounding the Swiss banks would tumble and destroy the industry, the banks' managements were dismissive and uncooperative in determining the location and extent of the assets in question, forcing the United States, other European countries, and Jewish organizations worldwide to apply tremendous pressure for a just resolution. The details and the central characters involved in this struggle, as well as new information about Switzerland's controversial policies during World War II, are fascinating reading for anyone concerned with the Holocaust and its aftermath.

Financial services regulation tends to be costly and unsympathetic to consumers. This book examines why that is the case and proposes and regulatory regime that would be more efficient and more responsive to consumer interests.

Edited and revised specifically for this volume, here are the best papers from the Tenth National Conference on Business Ethics, sponsored by Bentley College's Center for Business Ethics. Throughout, the contributors emphasize the ethical dimensions of problems and issues that confront the financial services and accounting industries, issues that are also of critical importance to business generally. Included among the contributors are members of the academic community, lawyers, government officials, and financial services and accounting professionals, each with his or her own special perspective, but all focused on the central theme: the importance of ethics and its proper role in the way financial services and accounting are done. Throughtful, challenging reading, not only for academics but for finance and accounting professionals as well.

Part I examines the ethics of the fiduciary relationship between principals and agents, defining the nature of trust and helping readers understand the fiduciary responsibility and conflicts of interest characteristic to the industry. In Part II, the contributors look at specific issues in ethics and financial disclosure, with particular focus on nonprofit healthcare organizations, financial derivatives, and confidentiality in a professional context as representative cases. More cases are presented in Part III, examining a variety of situations and events, such as the BCCI affair and the failure of banks. Part IV offers lessons from the past and a look toward the future, with such topics as the ethics of financial derivatives in the history of economic thought and the development of moral reasoning and professional judgment of auditors in public practice.

This work provides an integration of the financial and economic aspects of the interest rate. It depicts how the interest rate operates in the macro-economy to set the supply and the allocation of capital and how it functions on the micro-economic level to optimize capital decision-making. It describes the function of the financial markets in setting the supply and cost-of-funds to various users, of estimating a reasonable cost of capital for operational purposes of business firms and public sector authorities, and the application of discounting and present-value methods to financial and investment decisions and strategies.

This work is unique in presenting seamless coverage of the function of the interest rate across varying markets. It will be of interest to scholars and students in economics and finance.

This book suggests how good loans can be made to individuals and firms at the 'frontier'. This frontier is not geographic, but market based. On one side are those parts of the legitimate economy that are not usually considered creditworthy by formal financial institutions, and on the other are the generally more prosperous entities that do have access to formal finance. Good loans are loans that are repaid according to the terms agreed on when they were issued. It examines how lending at the frontier can be remunerative to commercial banks, development banks and other development finance agencies that retail credit and assume credit risk. Remunerative lending is important because most lenders, regardless of their ownership and institutional form, tend to avoid activities that are not attractive. Unremunerative lending is transitory, unstable, and not robust in the face of adversity. Credit markets function poorly when lenders are not adequately rewarded. Experience at the frontier clearly indicates that weak financial institutions do not do a good job serving society in general and firms and individuals at the frontier in particular. This book is intended for readers interested in the relationship between finance and development at the firm and household levels and in the use of credit by individuals in low-income countries.

This book demystifies the developments and defines the buzzwords in the wide open space of digitalization and finance, exploring the space of FinTech through the lens of the financial services professional and what they need to know to stay ahead. With chapters focusing on the customer interface, payments, smart contracts, workforce automation, robotics, crypto currencies and beyond, this book aims to be the go-to guide for professionals in financial services and banking on how to better understand the digitalization of their industry. The book provides an outlook of the impact digitalization will have in the daily work of a CFO/CRO and a structural influence to the financial management (including risk management) department of a bank.

Gail Kelly's presence reaches far beyond her own profession. The first female CEO of one of Australia's big four banks, listed by Forbes in 2010 as the eighth most powerful woman in the world, and mother of four (including triplets), Gail is celebrated as one of the finest, most innovative thinkers on leadership and workplace culture. In these personal, practical chapters, Gail shares what she has learned over her remarkable career, drawing from her personal and professional life. As a leader, she argues passionately for the importance of putting people and customers at the heart of a business; of leading with courage and generosity of spirit; and of resilience. Some of these lessons were learned at times of high pressure, and Gail takes us into her thinking as she led Westpac through the global financial crisis and the merger with St.George. But Gail's voice speaks to each of us, whatever our role in life. She explores the absolute importance of loving what you do; learning to learn; backing yourself; and, most importantly, placing your family above all things. At the heart of Gail's refreshing, authentic, integrated approach is how both individuals and companies thrive when they openly address the meaning of what they do, and understand the need to live a whole life. Live Lead Learn is the inspiring story of one of the world's most prominent businesspeople. It is also the story of a Pretoria girl who started out as a Latin teacher before making a shift to banking. Her executive career in the financial services industry spanned 35 years, equally split between the two countries she loves - South Africa and Australia. Her first role was as a teller at the Simmonds Street branch of the SA Perm in Johannesburg. Her last role was that of CEO of Westpac in Australia. Gail describes her journey as an improbable one. It is certainly a fascinating one.

Tatjana Viktorovna Nikitina gibt einen konzentrierten UEberblick uber die Aufgaben der Russischen Zentralbank und die Aktivitaten der Geschaftsbanken im umfassendsten Transformationsprozess Russlands nach der Revolution 1917. Der russischen Regierung kommt die historische Aufgabe zu, Institutionen wie die russische Zentralbank so mit gesetzlichen Regelungen auszustatten, dass die im Wettbewerb stehenden Geschaftsbanken als effektive Institutionen fur Stabilitat, Wachstum und gerechte Verteilung in Russland fungieren. Die Autorin schliesst eine Lucke im Wissen um den russischen Finanzsektor. Fundiertes Wissen um die Herausforderungen in Russland bereitet aber die Grundlage fur geschaftliche Kooperationen. Es baut Vorurteile ab und warnt vor illusionaren Vorstellungen. Insofern ist dieses essential auch ein Anstoss zur Zusammenarbeit, in der Generierung von besserem Wissen, der Wissensvermittlung und des Transfers in die Praxis. Die AutorinProf. Dr. Tatjana Nikitina ist Professorin an der Saint-Petersburg State University of Economics, Russische Foederation. Sie ist dort ferner Direktorin des Russian-German Centre und International Centre for Financial Market Research.

Federal financial regulation in the United States has evolved through a series of piecemeal responses to developments and crises in financial markets. This book provides an overview of current U.S. financial regulation: which agencies are responsible for which institutions and markets, and what kinds of authority they have. Banking regulation is largely based on a quid pro quo that was adopted in response to widespread bank failures. Federal securities regulation is based on the principle of disclosure, rather than direct regulation. Derivatives trading is supervised by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which oversees trading on the futures exchanges, which have self-regulatory responsibilities as well. There is also a large over-the-counter (off-exchange) derivatives market that is largely unregulated. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) oversees a group of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) -- public/private hybrid firms that seek both to earn profits and to further the policy objectives set out in their statutory charters. No federal agency has jurisdiction over trading in foreign exchange or U.S. Treasury securities; non-bank lenders fall outside the regulatory umbrella; and hedge funds, private equity firms, and venture capital investors are largely unregulated (although their transactions in securities and derivatives markets may be).

This extraordinary book, written by leading players in a burgeoning technology revolution, is about the merger of finance and technology (fintech), and covers its various aspects and how they impact each discipline within the financial services industry. It is an honest and direct analysis of where each segment of financial services will stand. Fintech: The New DNA of Financial Services provides an in-depth introduction to understanding the various areas of fintech and terminology such as AI, big data, robo-advisory, blockchain, cryptocurrency, InsurTech, cloud computing, crowdfunding and many more. Contributions from fintech innovators discuss banking, insurance and investment management applications, as well as the legal and human resource implications of fintech in the future.

William D. Cohan's Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World is a chronicle of the most successful, iconic bank on Wall Street, from the firm's founding in 1869 to the present day. Goldman Sachs are the investment bank all other banks - and most businesses - want to emulate; the firm with the best talent, the best clients, the best strategy. But is their success just down to the gilded magic of the 'Goldman way'? William D. Cohan has gained unprecedented access to Goldman's inner circle - both on and off the record. In an astonishing story of clashing egos, backstabbing, sex scandals, private investigators, court cases and government cabals, he reveals what really lies beneath their gold-plated image. 'The best analysis yet of Goldman's increasingly tangled web of conflicts' Economist 'Startling ... lifts the lid on Goldman's pivotal role in the meltdown' Mail on Sunday 'Cohan portrays a firm that has grown so large and hungry that it's no longer long-term greedy but short-term vicious. And that's the wonder - and horror - of Goldman Sachs' Businessweek 'Cohan's book tells of bitter power struggles and business cock-ups' Guardian 'A definitive account of the most profitable and influential investment bank of the modern era' The New York Times Book Review William D. Cohan was an award-winning investigative journalist before embarking on a seventeen-year career as an investment banker on Wall Street. His first book, The Last Tycoons, about Lazard, won the 2007 Financial Times/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award and was a New York Times bestseller. His second book, House of Cards, also a bestseller, is an account of the last days of Bear Stearns & Co.

Until about twenty years ago, the consensus view on the cause of financial-system distress was fairly simple: a run on one bank could easily turn to a panic involving runs on all banks, destroying some and disrupting the financial system. Since then, however, a series of events--such as emerging-market debt crises, bond-market meltdowns, and the Long-Term Capital Management episode--has forced a rethinking of the risks facing financial institutions and the tools available to measure and manage these risks."The Risks of Financial Institutions" examines the various risks affecting financial institutions and explores a variety of methods to help institutions and regulators more accurately measure and forecast risk. While new financial instruments, new participants, and new technologies typically have improved the informational efficiency of markets and have facilitated the matching of savings with investment opportunities, they have also changed the speed with which new information is incorporated in prices, often giving institutions little time to adjust before they see their financial soundness imperiled by new balance sheet weaknesses or by liquidity problems. The contributors--from academic institutions, regulatory organizations, and banking--bring a wide range of perspectives and experience to the issue. The result is a volume that points a way forward to greater financial stability and better risk management of financial institutions.

Internal investigations can be undertaken by a company or firm as a precursor to anticipated regulatory action, or for many other reasons. This title explains what a good regulatory investigation looks like whilst guiding investigators through the myriad of issues that can arise. It also dismantles many of the preconceptions and myths which have grown up around investigations in the post-financial crisis environment. Investigations are part of the 'business as usual' lifecycle for regulated firms. But there is no regulatory blueprint for what is accepted practice or accepted standards. This puts firms at a disadvantage with their regulators. Providing expert guidance on every step of a regulatory investigation including who should carry out the investigation, the scoping and planning, the interviewing and witness handling, how best to cooperate with the authorities, employee conduct and performance investigations, investigating senior staff, press, PR and Corporate Comms and litigation risks A Guide to Conducting Internal Investigations redresses the balance and provides a much needed blueprint for firms who find themselves in this position. This is a new practical resource for all firms and individuals that may find themselves the subject of, or be asked to assist in, a regulatory investigation or enforcement action.

Financial Services Canada is the only master file of current contacts and information that serves the needs of the entire financial services industry in Canada. With over 18,000 organizations and hard-to-find business information, Financial Services Canada is the most up-to-date source for names and contact information of industry professionals, senior executives, portfolio managers, financial advisors, agency bureaucrats and elected representatives.

Community banks ... generally small and locally focused institutions ... are important sources of credit to small businesses. Since the 2007 ... 2009 financial crisis, regulators have made significant changes to the regulatory environment. Chapter 1 examines the data regulators use to measure small business lending, as well as the extent of any regulatory effects on the amount of community banks' small business lending and their lending processes, changes in bank populations, and financial performance. Chapter 2 examines (1) the regulations community banks and credit unions viewed as most burdensome and why, and (2) efforts by depository institution regulators to reduce any regulatory burden. GAO analyzed regulations and interviewed more than 60 community banks and credit unions (selected based on asset size and financial activities), regulators, and industry associations and consumer groups.

'A brilliantly readable account, based on exceptional access, of the transformation of the old Quaker bank into a hard-charging capitalist adventurer ... both a thriller and a reminder that business is fascinating because all human life is there' John Plender, Financial Times Based on unparalleled access to those involved, and told with compelling pace and drama, The Bank that Lived a Little describes three decades of boardroom intrigue at one of Britain's biggest financial institutions. In a tale of feuds, grandiose dreams and a struggle for supremacy between rival strategies and their adherents, Philip Augar gives a riveting account of Barclays' journey from an old Quaker bank to a full-throttle capitalist machine. The disagreement between those ambitious for Barclays to join the top table of global banks, and those preferring a smaller domestic role more in keeping with the bank's traditions, cost three chief executives their jobs and continues to divide opinion within Barclays, the City and beyond. This is an extraordinary corporate thriller, which among much else describes how Barclays came to buy Lehman Brothers for a bargain price in 2008, why it was so keen to avoid taking government funding during the financial crisis, and the price shareholders have paid for a decade of barely controlled ambition. But Augar also shows how Barclays' experiences are a paradigm for Britain's social and economic life over thirty years, which saw the City move from the edge of the economy to its very centre. These decades created unprecedented prosperity for a tiny number, and made the reputations of governments and individuals but then left many of them in tatters. The leveraged society, the winner-takes-all mentality and our present era of austerity can all be traced to the influence of banks such as Barclays. Augar's book tells this rollercoaster story from the perspective of many of its participants - and also of those affected by the grip they came to have on Britain.

Systemic Risk: History, Measurement and Regulation presents an overview of this emerging form of risk from a global perspective. Systemic risks endanger entire financial systems, not just individual financial institutions. In this volume, the authors review how systemic risk has evolved over the last 40 years across continents to come to the forefront of regulatory attention. They then discuss transmissions channels, provide a review of systemic risk measures, and describe new regulations that have been introduced, as well as the theory and practice of financial stability committees that have been set up internationally. Overall, the book provides a practical guide to understand, identify, assess and control systemic risk.While the financial research on systemic risk has strongly increased since the events of 2008, this book is a first in providing a detailed yet concise overview of the topic, covering the history of systemic risk, its measurement, and its regulation. The authors provide both academic and practitioner-oriented insights, and draw on their different regions of expertise to provide a global perspective on systemic risk.

This book provides unique information to prepare graduates and newly hired corporate and investment banking professionals for a career in the global markets environment of large universal and international investment banks. It shows the interrelationship between the three specific business functions of sales, trading, and research, as well as the interaction with corporate and institutional clients. The book fills a gap in the available literature by linking financial market theory to the practical aspects of day-to-day operations on a trading floor and offers a taxonomy of the current banking business, providing an in-depth analysis of the main market participants in the global markets ecosystem. Engaging the reader with case studies, anecdotes, and industry color, the book addresses the risks and opportunities of the global markets business in today's global financial markets both from a theoretical and from a practitioner's perspective and focuses on the most important fixed-income financial instruments from a pricing, risk-management, and client-marketing perspective.

The Operational Risk Handbook for Financial Companies is a groundbreaking new book. It seeks to apply for the first time a range of proven operational risk techniques from other industries and disciplines to the troubled territory of financial services. Operational risk expert Brian Barnier introduces a range of sophisticated, dependable and - crucially - approachable tools for risk evaluation, risk response and risk governance. He provides a more robust way of gaining a better picture of risks, shows how to build risk-return awareness into decision making, and how to fix (and not just report) risks. The practical importance of fully understanding and acting on risk to the business begins in the foreword on plan-B thinking, penned by Marshall Carter, chairman of the NYSE and deputy chairman of NYSE Euronext. The book is unique because: - It is not just about modeling and a few basic tools derived from regulatory requirements. Instead, it looks at management of risk to operations across industries, professional disciplines and history to help ops risk leaders become aware of the entire landscape of proven experience, not just their own conference room. - It is not just about compliance. Instead, it looks to operations as part of performance - managing risk to return for shareholders and other interests (e.g. guarantee funds). - It is not content to look at risk in stand-alone segments or silos; instead it takes a systems approach. - It is not just about ops risk leaders sharing war stories at a conference. Instead, it introduces a panel of six financial institution board members who get risk management and provide their perspectives throughout the book to encourage/demand more from ops risk to meet the needs of the institution in the world. - It is not a semi-random collection of tips and tricks. Instead, it is grounded in a risk-management process flow tailored to financial companies from a range of proven experience, providing tools to help at each step. Suitable for companies of all sizes, this book is of direct relevance and use to all business managers, practitioners, boards and senior executives. Key insights from and for each are built into every chapter, including unique contributions from board members of a range of companies. The Operational Risk Handbook for Financial Companies is an essential book for making better decisions at every level of a financial company; ones that measurably improve outcomes for boards, managers, employees and shareholders alike.

Loan sharks may conjure up an image of tough guys in fedoras looking to make a profit off of desperate people in dire financial straits, but in reality, lenders who advance small sums of cash at high interest rates until payday existed long before organized crime entered the trade. Today the businesses that fill this niche in the credit market prefer the name 'payday lenders' rather than loan sharks, but most large cities are still a hotbed of usurious lending, and the landscapes are dotted with their inviting and brightly colored storefronts. Despite their more respectable name, these predatory lenders have endured through regulation, prohibition, and the rise and fall of the mob since the late 1800s. In this intriguing and accessible book, Mayer aptly assesses the consequences of high-interest lending--both for the people who borrow at such steep prices and for society as a whole. He argues that although some consumers gain from borrowing at high rates, payday lending in its modern form consistently traps many of the wage earners who pawn their postdated checks, leaving them worse off than they were before. Because payday lending regulations vary widely throughout the country, Mayer chose to focus his story on Chicago, a city that serves as a fine representative of the legacy of loan sharking. "Quick Cash "will engage policy analysts, economists, and regional historians, as wells as general readers interested in the fascinating story behind these unscrupulous lending operations that feed off America's current tough economic times.

The shocking fall of Bear Stearns in March 2008 set off a wave of global financial turmoil that continues to ripple. How could one of the oldest, most resilient firms on Wall Street go so far astray that it had to be sold at a fire sale price? How could the guys who ran Bear so aggressively miscalculate so completely?
In this vivid and dramatic narrative, Kate Kelly takes us inside Bearas walls during its final, frenzied 72 hours as an independent firm. Expanding with fresh detail from her acclaimed front- page series in "The Wall Street Journal," she captures every sight, sound, and smell of those three unbelievable days.
For decades, Bear had proudly recruited aP.S.Dsaa employees who were poor, smart, and had a deep desire to become rich. An elite family or Ivy League diploma didnat matter. Were you willing to do almost anything to make money for the firm? Were you tough enough to be a street fighter?
Bearas leaders were arrogant and didnat play nice. But their style had made them a fortune, and had helped Bear survive every crisis from the Great Depression to the dotcom bubble.
Yet as the subprime mortgage crisis began to brew, the firmas key executives descended into civil war. Kelly reveals fresh, never-before-told details about the moves that led to that brutal final weekend.
With a style as riveting as it is enlightening, "Street Fighters" is the definitive account of a once-great firmas demise, and the human folly that led to the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Are you fully prepared for the implementation of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime across financial services firms and the related regulatory scrutiny on conduct and accountability? The 2008 financial crisis sparked major changes in global financial services regulation with attention and resources focused on the behaviour of firms and senior individuals and how they conduct their business. Regulatory reforms have been designed and implemented globally to address accountability and conduct in financial services. In the UK this has resulted in the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR) being implemented across all FSMA-regulated firms. Conduct and Accountability in Financial Services: A Practical Guide provides comprehensive and expert guidance on how best to implement and comply with the SM&CR. In addition to acting as a guide to rule book requirements and regulatory expectations, it provides an in-depth look at the implications of the global focus on culture and conduct risk. A must-read text for all staff in UK financial services firms, professional associations, industry bodies, regulators, academics and advisers to financial services organisations, it covers: The context and regulatory basis for SM&CR including an overview of the development and roll-out of the regime Analysis of key changes from the previous 'approved person' approach Practical considerations for HR, internal audit and non-executive directors The increasing role of culture and conduct risk A practical overview of enforcement, penalties and learning lessons from enforcement actions Overarching principles of how to manage personal regulatory risk Regulatory relationship management The impact of technology An overview of related global developments Appendices with timeline, bibliography and a selection of other useful sources for senior managers Conduct and Accountability in Financial Services: A Practical Guide is on the syllabus reading list for the Regulation and Compliance exam offered by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments.