This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date examination of the functions that international banks perform and the environment under which they operate.The dynamic nature of the international banking environment requires researchers in the field to develop skills that allow them to i) understand the fundamentals of international banking and ii) effectively identify current challenges and opportunities. In this regard, this book helps to cultivate a deep understanding of modern international banking and finance.Part 1: The Fundamentals of International Banking presents the examinations of core international banking functions. The topics covered are the functions and types of international banking; the internationalisation of the US, Japanese and Chinese banks; international trade finance; the interbank foreign exchange and eurocurrency markets; and international loan syndication. Part 2: International Financial Crises and Secret Money builds on the discussions in the first part to help readers understand the implications for international banks of international banking and sovereign debt crises, financial secrecy and international money laundering.Suk-Joong Kim is Professor of International Finance and Banking at the University of Sydney Business School, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

The deregulation of developed countries' financial markets, the reshaping of the traditional boundaries of commercial and investment banking activities, and the development of banking systems in emerging markets in recent times has seen an evolution of the roles performed by banks. This volume publishes original papers that examine the issues concerning challenges and opportunities for international banks in the rapidly changing global environment. It looks at financial markets and banking, examines the role of banks and lawyers in the global financial crisis, explores post-crisis financial regulation and highlights determinants of international banking. Truly international in coverage, specific articles focus on: bank fragility and the financial crisis with evidence from the U.S. dual banking system; Asia-Pacific perspectives on the financial crisis 2007-2009; bankers and scapegoats; lawyers and the meltdown; perspectives from the developing world on reforming international standards for bank capital requirements; Australian regulators and bank risk managers; the effects of underwriting practices on loan losses; and comparisons of banking efficiency in Europe.

This book volume brings together carefully selected scholarly works covering four inter-related topic areas in international finance. The first section deals with the efficacy and determinants of central bank currency interventions by the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia, the two of the most active central banks in the currency markets in the 1990s and the 2000s. This is followed by chapters that investigate the nature of information processing following domestic and foreign macroeconomic announcements. The third section provides the investigations into the evolving nature of financial market integration and information leadership of major financial centers. The final section presents the studies on the role sovereign credit ratings play in attracting international capital investments.The comprehensive empirical evidence provided in this book helps readers understand how international financial markets have evolved in their linkages and how information processing occurs in relation to sovereign rating events and other information arrivals.

In some circles, transparency has become a buzzword as organizations face increasing pressure from institutional shareholders and regulators, banks and other stakeholders needing to monitor financial conditions and managerial decisions more closely to protect their interests. The call for corporate transparency has also intensified for banks since the recent global financial crises and as a result of a series of egregious financial scandals. For this volume we have collected 12 original research papers dealing with various issues relating to transparency. This topic spans many disciplines beyond accounting and finance, intersecting economics, law and management, embracing sociology and political science, and offering opportunities for creative interdisciplinary research. We hope this volume is a useful one-stop reference for students and scholars as well as practitioners and policymakers interested in such work.

This volume of International Finance Review focuses on the Asia-Pacific financial markets. A total of 22 original papers, not published elsewhere, have been selected from a competitive field. These papers utilize a variety of methods, including theoretical, empirical and qualitative to highlight a range of issues across the region. Several papers offer combinations of these different categories and among the empirical papers, there are a wide variety of datasets analyzed. While China does play a significant part in the analysis of five of the papers in this volume (this is to be expected given its importance in the region), a host of other countries are also considered. This ensures the volume is truly international in its scope. These papers each serve to contribute to the knowledge on a particular issue related to the financial markets within this region and for this volume, three main issues have been identified: integration, innovation and challenges.
*Articles contributed by experts in their fields
*Truly international in scope

Financial institutions are facing unprecedented challenges brought on by the coronavirus Pandemic, less than a decade after recovering from the Global Financial Crisis and the Eurozone debt crisis. The causes of these challenges differ greatly from the previous crises that financial institutions, to a large extent, had contributed to. The current challenges were exogenous and unpredictable, and their consequences will reshape the financial system architecture around the world. Fintech, once dismissed as no more than a novel approach to servicing the segment of the population often overlooked by established financial intermediaries, is now challenging the traditional models of commercial and investment banking. The inevitable future introduction of digital currencies that could replace national currencies in many business transactions has the potential to fundamentally change the business models of financial institutions and how the financial system functions. Volume 22, Fintech, Pandemic, and the Financial System, examines systemic challenges faced by a wide range of financial market participants and the continued disruptions introduced by financial innovations (Fintech). International Finance Review publishes theme-oriented volumes on various issues in international finance, such as international business finance, international investment and capital markets, global risk management, international corporate governance and institution, currency markets, emerging market finance, international economic integration, and related issues.