The monograph presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on European banking, both at a macro and a micro level. It analyses the impact of the pandemic on bank stability, performance and credit policies, as well as their strategic adjustments to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial chapters analyze the various governmental responses to the pandemic. Topics of discussion include the scale and scope of the wide range of public policies undertaken to mitigate the consequences of the crisis, and their efficiency in limiting the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy. The results suggest that the extensive public interventions have been largely successful in averting the possible disastrous consequences for the financial sector on a macro level. On a micro level, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the restructuring and recovery of the banking industry started after the 2008 crisis which has had a significant impact on economies around the world, arguably leading to a negative long-lasting effect on sustainable development. To examine this, the book focuses on the impact of the pandemic on bank lending policies, bank stability and performance, and on competitive position of the banks vis a vis the FinTech sector. Offering a thorough overview of the issues that banks will have to face as a consequence of pandemic related macroeconomic and industry adjustments, the book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of banking and finance as well as banking specialists concerned with the impact of crises on financial markets, risks and resilience.

This book discusses the transformation of the banking industry, particularly after a number of recent shocks: 2008 financial crisis, 2012 Euro-sovereign crisis, the pandemic COVID-19 crisis, the technological revolution, and reputational problems in banking due to climate risk and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) metrics. The book emphasizes two post-pandemic issues: the role of financial education and inclusive finance, and responsible banking and ESG priorities. Individual chapters analyse how the pandemic shed new light on social and governance responsibilities: Major issues include the importance and efficiency of financial education, and the impact of ESG programs on firms’ value, banks’ probability of default, bank business models and reputation risk. The book also addresses investors’ behaviour and the factors which may bias financial disclosure and reporting. By addressing whether the post-2008 crisis bank restructuring has effectively created a resilient and sustainable banking system – mostly from the European market’s perspective – the book will be of interest to researchers, academics, policy makers, and professionals of banking and financial institutions.

Banking in Transition Economies is a modern analysis of banking in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe and includes a detailed examination of banking in the first five years of transition as well as policy recommendations for banking reform in the region. This authoritative book presents an extensive investigation of changes in the structure of the banking industry and the progress of privatization, particularly in Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. Privatization and the restructuring of 'problem banks' are analysed as well as the strategy for re-capitalization and bank failure, and the role of foreign banks in bringing reform to the region. The book offers policy prescriptions for the transition from a passive banking structure to an active financial sector supporting the development of the industrial sector, and for the role of the state after privatization. This book will be of great importance to bankers in Central and Eastern Europe and economists interested in the process of transition, as well as financial and monetary economists.

This timely reader of seminal papers published by Palgrave on behalf of Comparative Economic Studies, examines how and why foreign banks enter emerging markets and the positive benefits they bring to the host countries.

Throughout much of the twentieth century, economists paid little heed to the role of financial intermediaries in procuring a beneficial allocation of capital. By the end of the century, however, some financial historians had begun to turn the tide, and the phrase 'finance-growth nexus' became part of the lexicon of modern economics. Recent experience has added another dimension in that countries with broader, deeper and more active financial systems might be prone to financial crises, particularly if regulatory structures are inadequate. In this book, Peter L. Rousseau and Paul Wachtel have gathered together some of today's most distinguished financial historians to examine this finance-growth nexus from both historical and modern perspectives. Some essays examine the nexus in a particular historical or cross-country context. Others, in the light of recent experience, explore the expanded nexus of finance, growth, crises, and regulation.

This volume presents the proceedings of an international conference held in 1986, a year in which the policy frictions between Japan and the United States were particularly heated. The issues discussed herein are of broader interest than the crises reported in the daily press. The conference programme and discussions attempt to put these crises in perspective and thereby contribute to our understanding of economic policy.

Throughout much of the twentieth century, economists paid little heed to the role of financial intermediaries in procuring a beneficial allocation of capital. By the end of the century, however, some financial historians had begun to turn the tide, and the phrase 'finance-growth nexus' became part of the lexicon of modern economics. Recent experience has added another dimension in that countries with broader, deeper and more active financial systems might be prone to financial crises, particularly if regulatory structures are inadequate. In this book, Peter L. Rousseau and Paul Wachtel have gathered together some of today's most distinguished financial historians to examine this finance-growth nexus from both historical and modern perspectives. Some essays examine the nexus in a particular historical or cross-country context. Others, in the light of recent experience, explore the expanded nexus of finance, growth, crises, and regulation.