Now featuring a New Preface on The Eurozone Debt Crisis Praise for Banker to the World "From Ukraine to China and Nigeria to Egypt debt and finance are central to global stability and United States interests. No one else has nearly as much experience on the front lines as Bill Rhodes. All who care about the 21st century will profit from close study of his thoughts."--Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University, former Secretary of the Treasury for President Clinton, and former Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama "Rhodes's recollections are lively and richly detailed, replete with glimpses of top-ranking personalities from the world of banking and government interacting under pressure, and they provide a rare window into how these important but normally secretive operations of high-level international finance actually work. ..." -The New York Review of Books "Mr. Rhodes was one of the few members of the financial establishment to sense that the world was on the brink of a calamity in 2007 (most of the prophets of doom were either academic theoreticians or maverick financiers) ... Mr. Rhodes is rightly proud of his record in defusing debt bombs and calming financial storms. Let's hope that his successors will be able to make similar boasts in the decades to come." -The Wall Street Journal "Bill Rhodes has made it his life's work to bring common sense to the most serious international problems. On something I know firsthand, the Brady Plan, Bill's steady support and energy were invaluable to its conclusion. This comes as no surprise--that's what he always does." -Nicholas Brady, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury " Banker to the World, a book exceptionally well titled, is an illuminating lesson in leadership, diplomacy, vision, and tenacity. It will be required reading at all levels of finance." -Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State "His memoir is a must for anyone who wants to recapture the behind-the-scenes details of this important recent era of banking history." -Robert Mundell, Nobel Laureate and Professor, Columbia University "William Rhodes' book is an important and interesting one, and something that those who want to understand the past and present better would do well to read. A highly talented banker and wise statesman, Rhodes' book is essential reading as a history, business, and life lesson." -Forbes.com "[S]hould be required r ...

Never has the World Bank's relief work been more important than in the last nine years, when crises as huge as AIDS and the emergence of terrorist sanctuaries have threatened the prosperity of billions. This journalistic masterpiece by Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby charts those controversial years at the Bank under the leadership of James Wolfensohn—the unstoppable power broker whose daring efforts to enlarge the planet's wealth in an age of globalization and terror were matched only by the force of his polarizing personality. Based on unprecedented access to its subject, this captivating tour through the messy reality of global development is that rare triumph—an emblematic story through which a gifted author has channeled the spirit of the age. This edition features a new afterword by the author that analyzes the appointment of Paul Wolfowitz as Wolfensohn's successor at the World bank

Argues that the stock market crash of 1929 and subsequent Depression occurred as a result of poor decisions on the part of four central bankers who jointly attempted to reconstruct international finance by reinstating the gold standard.

"From Ukraine to China and Nigeria to Egypt debt and finance are central to global stability and United States interests. No one else has nearly as much experience on the front lines as Bill Rhodes. All who care about the 21st century will profit from close study of his thoughts." —Lawrence H. Summers, Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus at Harvard University, former Secretary of the Treasury for President Clinton, and former Director of the National Economic Council for President Obama In more than five decades with Citi, William "Bill" Rhodes, the firm's former senior vice chairman and senior international officer, has worked with senior business leaders, statesmen, and strongmen and brokered immense financial deals while looking across the table at finance ministers . . . and up the barrels of guns trained on him. He has earned the cooperation of Fidel Castro over cigars and the admiration of Rupert Murdoch, who said of Rhodes, "By dogged hard work, Bill forms important and great relationships. Everyone knows Bill. Everyone trusts Bill." From these and other experiences, Rhodes has learned a lifetime of lessons about managing amid crises--and, more important, how to lead prudently, decisively, and effectively to prevent crises from ever happening in the first place. In Banker to the World, Rhodes presents his collected wisdom, best-practices, analysis, and anecdotes in one essential volume on the creation of value through leadership--and on the importance of leading by one's values. Dramatically illustrated by more than two dozen examples, Rhodes's principles offer an excellent foundation for leaders at all levels. Having honed his skills in high-level negotiations around the world--including those with the Sandinistas, heads of state, and corporate CEOs in situations ranging from the opening of post-apartheid South Africa and the defusing of the Latin American "debt bomb" to the forestalling of the nationalization of Citi assets in Venezuela—Rhodes dispenses invaluable advice, including: Lead boldly and decisively: Know when to disregard caution for caution's sake--and always insist on a neutral negotiating atmosphere. Anticipate problems by visualizing their impact: Get ahead of risk by taking a comprehensive view of potential obstacles. Confront problems directly and proactively: When faced with a critical situation, going directly to its epicenter is what turns a crisis into an opportunity. You may not be presented with challenges such as restructuring a nation’s multibillion-dollar debt or dealing with Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. But in Banker to the World, Bill Rhodes gives takeaway lessons on leading with character, tact, and determination that any manager, executive, or government official will use again and again to evaluate challenges, anticipate responses, and be more decisive in navigating crises of any size.

The inspirational story of how Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus invented microcredit, founded the Grameen Bank, and transformed the fortunes of millions of poor people around the world. Muhammad Yunus was a professor of economics in Bangladesh, who realized that the most impoverished members of his community were systematically neglected by the banking system -- no one would loan them any money. Yunus conceived of a new form of banking -- microcredit -- that would offer very small loans to the poorest people without collateral, and teach them how to manage and use their loans to create successful small businesses. He founded Grameen Bank based on the belief that credit is a basic human right, not the privilege of a fortunate few, and it now provides $24 billion of micro-loans to more than nine million families. Ninety-seven percent of its clients are women, and repayment rates are over 90 percent. Outside of Bangladesh, micro-lending programs inspired by Grameen have blossomed, and serve hundreds of millions of people around the world. The definitive history of micro-credit direct from the man that conceived of it, Banker to the Poor is the moving story of someone who dreamed of changing the world -- and did.

By the end of 1985, Latin Americans owed their foreign creditors $368 billion. That was nearly $1,000 for every man, woman, and child between the Rio Grande and Tierra del Fuego. The debt represented more than half of the region's gross domestic product, and interest payments alone consumed 36 percent of export revenues. If profits are added to interest, and the total compared to new capital inflows, the drama of the situation becomes clear: a real resource transfer from Latin American was under way. More than three-fourths of Latin America's debt was owed to several hundred commercial banks with headquarters in North America, Europe, and Japan. Banker to the Third World examines why the loans that precipitated the 1985 debt crisis were made, how these loans were similar to, and different from, other loans, what solutions to the crisis would be effective, and how such problems could be avoided in the future. When originally published, this title presented a new and timely analysis of the crisis; today it serves as a historical exploration that will give readers a better understanding of both Latin American economic history and more recent foreign debt crises. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

The World Bank has been in business for more than fifty years. Starting from an original - and still relevant - goal of helping reconstruct war-torn economies, it has enlarged its mission to meet the changing needs of developing countries and the challenges of the post-cold war world. Now the World Bank's historian, Jochen Kraske, draws on the Bank's archives and other sources to tell the story of the Bank's first seven presidents and how their personalities, outlook, and managerial styles have affected the institution.

A Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg Businessweek Book of the Year Why our banking system is broken—and what we must do to fix it New bank failures have been a rude awakening for everyone who believed that the banking industry was reformed after the Global Financial Crisis—and that we’d never again have to choose between massive bailouts and financial havoc. The Bankers’ New Clothes uncovers just how little things have changed—and why banks are still so dangerous. Writing in clear language that anyone can understand, Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig debunk the false and misleading claims of bankers, regulators, politicians, academics, and others who oppose effective reform, and they explain how the banking system can be made safer and healthier. Thoroughly updated for a world where bank failures have made a dramatic return, this acclaimed and important book now features a new preface and four new chapters that expose the shortcomings of current policies and reveal how the dominance of banking even presents dangers to the rule of law and democracy itself.

A deeply reported, New York Times bestselling exposé of the money and the clerics-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican—the world’s biggest, most powerful religious institution—from an acclaimed journalist with “exhaustive research techniques” (The New York Times). From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, God’s Bankers traces the political intrigue of the Catholic Church in “a meticulous work that cracks wide open the Vatican’s legendary, enabling secrecy” (Kirkus Reviews). Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this book is about the church’s accumulation of wealth and its byzantine financial entanglements across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in one of the world’s most influential organizations. God’s Bankers has it all: a revelatory and astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, and mysterious deaths written off as suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church’s aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger tensions of more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican’s Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. “As exciting as a mystery thriller” (Providence Journal), this book reveals with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.

Gentlemen Bankers investigates the social and economic circles of one of America’s most renowned and influential financiers to uncover how the Morgan family’s power and prestige stemmed from its unique position within a network of local and international relationships. At the turn of the twentieth century, private banking was a personal enterprise in which business relationships were a statement of identity and reputation. In an era when ethnic and religious differences were pronounced and anti-Semitism was prevalent, Anglo-American and German-Jewish elite bankers lived in their respective cordoned communities, seldom interacting with one another outside the business realm. Ironically, the tacit agreement to maintain separate social spheres made it easier to cooperate in purely financial matters on Wall Street. But as Susie Pak demonstrates, the Morgans’ exceptional relationship with the German-Jewish investment bank Kuhn, Loeb & Co., their strongest competitor and also an important collaborator, was entangled in ways that went far beyond the pursuit of mutual profitability. Delving into the archives of many Morgan partners and legacies, Gentlemen Bankers draws on never-before published letters and testimony to tell a closely focused story of how economic and political interests intersected with personal rivalries and friendships among the Wall Street aristocracy during the first half of the twentieth century.