This work comprises discussions of issues impacting on the development of banking activities in the Latin American region, together with various perspectives on possible reform. It presents a comparative study of several Latin American banking systems and their supervisory bodies, and examines the institutional structures put in place following the reforms of the last decade. There is further discussion about the relationship that should exist between regulations and discretionary power when banks face difficulties. These various subjects are explored through national case studies including Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica and by way of comparison, the United States and Canada. In addition, the text covers a general discussion of the wider international context. There is comparative study of the structure of supervisory bodies in developed countries and the implications for developing countries, and of how recent international trends in banking supervision have been reflected in the experiences of Latin American countries. The crises experienced by South East Asian financial systems are examined and the ways in which they could impact on Latin America. The book also investigates the integration of banking markets at an international level and the harmonization of different regulatory frameworks. A study of the European Union experience provides a background for the discussion of harmonization in the Mercosur countries. This book arose out of the Second High Level meeting on the reform of the financial systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Venezuela in October 1997 under the auspices of the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American Economic System (SELA). In bringing together the various viewpoints presented at this meeting, the book aims to initiate serious reflection on the reform of Latin American banking systems, and in doing so, to contribute to the achievement of safe and efficient banking markets in the region.