"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.

Now featuring a New Preface on The Eurozone Debt Crisis Praise for Banker to the World “No one knows better nor has more and better experience across the globe over the last 40 years in diagnosing and managing risks involving sovereign countries and major corporations. In today’s world, risk is a major external element in managing the strategy of a business. This book is clearly and simply written. It’s a must for all managers and all leaders who aspire to excel in the global game.” —Ram Charan, co-author of the bestseller Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done “Bill Rhodes has been much more than a banker. As Citibanks’s long-time “ambassador to the world,” he’s been both a diplomat and a surrogate government official—for several countries. Both heads of companies and heads of state have not only sought his advice but relied on him to make deals—and he has delivered time and time again. This little book tells you how. Everyone—or at least everyone that matters in international finance-—knows Bill Rhodes. And after you read this amazing memoir, you’ll know him, and his undauntable personality, too.” —Alan Blinder, Gordon S. Rentschler Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, Princeton University "...Once the immediate worry of a string of bank failures has abated, Berlin and Paris should then go about the business of restructuring errant countries' bank loans. The global community has been through this before. For a primer, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron should read the short, breezily written but instructive book Banker to the World: Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance...by now-retired banker Bill Rhodes, who quarterbacked numerous, complex restructurings." —Steve Forbes, "What's German for TARP," Forbes.com "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. . . . Whether America’s bankers will run their firms more responsibly in the future remains an open question. They would do well to have people like William Rhodes in their senior management—and, next time around, to listen to them." —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) . . . . In Banker to the World . . . Mr. Rhodes succeeds in hammering home three lessons that we need to take to heart if we are to have any chance of navigating the troubled waters that lie ahead. . . . Bankers to the world like Mr. Rhodes are buffetted from one unpredictable storm to another. They are forever on the verge of being ruined by events. And they rely on the seat of their pants as much as the power of their intellects. 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 been the consummate insider in international issues for more than three decades. He influenced U.S. and foreign policies on trade, exchange rates, and foreign debt resolution. Leaders around the world have benefited from Bill Rhodes’s advice. This book gives readers an honest review of the events and of the political leaders who made the key decisions." —Professor Martin Feldstein, Department of Economics, Harvard University "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 "Only one person could have written this book. At Citibank for 50 years, Bill Rhodes was a key decision-maker in the negotiations that took place in indebted countries in the wake of Mexico's default in 1982. He also was one of the few bankers who saw the recent 'Great Recession' coming. 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 "A must-read. Bill Rhodes has seen it all, and his experiences and lessons learned are invaluable for all those involved in international relations and finance. Some of the lessons are applicable to problems being faced in the Euro zone and other advanced economies today. He was one of the few who predicted what we now call the Great Recession and was called a Cassandra by many at the time. But, like Cassandra, he was right." —Nouriel Roubini, Cofounder and Chairman, Roubini Global Economics “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 reading not only for other bankers, but also for Washington’s would-be reformers of Wall Street, but most of all for the ordinary lay citizens dismayed by the persisting panic. . . .”.” –American Spectator “An absorbing read.” —Foreign Affairs “It should be required reading not only for other bankers, but also for Washington’s would-be reformers of Wall Street, but most of all for the ordinary lay citizens dismayed by the persisting panic…” —American Spectator “Anyone interested in learning what lessons the emerging markets restructurings might hold for Europe should read William Rhodes' book Banker to the World.” —John Dizard, Financial Times “It’s hard to quibble with what Bill Rhodes has accomplished. That much is obvious from the veteran Citi banker’s career battling the world’s major financial crises. He reviews many of them in Banker to the World, a well-paced account of his 50 years in the business. He eschews a traditional memoir in favor of a more didactic approach: the book’s subtitle is ‘Leadership Lessons from the Front Lines of Global Finance.’” —Antony Currie, Reuters/Breakingviews “Veteran banker Bill Rhodes, who received The Banker’s lifetime achievement award in 2007, has just published a book called banker to the World: leadership lessons from the frontlines of global finance. As Mr. Rhodes was at the centre of countless debt workouts and restructurings in more than five decades at Citi, these are lessons that younger bankers should definitely learn.” —The Banker About the Book: 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.

This book is an authoritative account of the economic and political roots of the 2008 financial crisis. It examines why it was triggered in the United States, why it morphed into the great recession, and why the contagion spread with such ferocity around the globe. It also examines how and why economies - including the Eurozone, Russia, China, India, East Asia, and the Middle East - have been impacted and explores their response to the unprecedented challenges of the crisis and the effectiveness of their policy measures. Global Financial Contagion specifically looks at how the Obama Administration's policy missteps have contributed to America's huge debt and slow recovery, why the Eurozone's response to its existential crisis has become a never-ending saga, and why the G20's efforts to create a new international financial architecture may fall short. This book will long be regarded as the standard account of the crisis and its aftermath.

This edited volume documents the intellectual influence of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) through its flagship publication, the World Economic and Social Survey (WESS) on its 70th Anniversary. First published in 1948, as World Economic Report, WESS is the oldest continuous post-World War II publication recording and analysing the performance of the global economy and social development trends. It offers relevant policy recommendations and highlights how well the United Nation's (UN) annual report has tracked global economic and social conditions, and how its analyses influenced and were influenced by the prevailing development discourse during the past seven decades. It also critically reflects on its policy recommendations and their influence on actual policy-making and the shaping of the world economy. The World Economy through the Lens of the United Nations reflects on this report, amongst others, to provide valuable insights on global economic challenges and their differential impacts on different groups of countries requiring global policy coordination as well as context specific policy responses. It demonstrates that UN reports have often been ahead of the curve and played a critical role in policy debate, especially in the area of international policy coordination and coherence for balanced global development, and offers rich and path-breaking analyses of contemporary problems of growth, development, trade and stabilization.

This new textbook provides an up-to-date overview of international banking as the second decade of the twenty-first century unfolds. Integrating geo-economic, operational, institutional and regulatory changes in the financial sector, the volume’s methodology incorporates specific case studies and research, combining theory with practical examples to illustrate the impact and consequences of past and present financial crises. The volume considers the core aspects of international banking, including its structural and technical features, historical context, institutional evolution in core markets, and wholesale, retail, investment and private banking. It uses specific examples from past and present literature, post-2008 case studies and histories, and research materials, offering a fully updated overview of how international banks respond to global crises, the origin, efficacy and evolution of financial markets, and the regulatory framework within which they function. One chapter is devoted to the evolution and potential of new markets, including the financial sectors of the BRICS and other emerging economies. Each chapter examines background, causes, impact and resolution, focusing on specific cases and their broader implications for the sector. This textbook is a guide to the new, and at times unchartered, landscape to be navigated by large domestic, cross-regional and global banks, and will be invaluable reading for students of finance, business and economics, as well as for those in the financial sector.

The Changing Organization provides a multidisciplinary approach for studying the management of change under conditions of complexity. Single-discipline approaches frequently miss essential elements that reduce the possibility of coherence within a multi-agency organizational setting. Combining a systems and cybernetic 'living system' perspective, Guo, Yolles, Fink, and Iles offer a new agency paradigm designed to model, diagnose and analyse complex, real-world situations. Its capacity to anticipate patterns of behaviour provides useful means by which the origin of crises can be understood, and resolutions reflected upon. Scholars and graduate students in fields as diverse as management, politics, anthropology and psychology will find numerous applications for this book when considering socio-political and organizational change, and it offers an invaluable guide for consultants who may wish to apply advanced techniques of contextual analysis to real-world situations.

Following an unprecedented economic boom fed by foreign investment, the Russian Revolution triggered the worst sovereign default in history. Bankers and Bolsheviks tells the dramatic story of this boom and bust, chronicling the forgotten experiences of leading financiers of the age. Shedding critical new light on the decision making of the powerful personalities who acted as the gatekeepers of international finance, Hassan Malik narrates how they channeled foreign capital into Russia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. While economists have long relied on quantitative analysis to grapple with questions relating to the drivers of cross-border capital flows, Malik adopts a historical approach, drawing on banking and government archives in four countries. The book provides rare insights into the thinking of influential figures in world finance as they sought to navigate one of the most challenging and lucrative markets of the first modern age of globalization. Bankers and Bolsheviks reveals how a complex web of factors--from government interventions to competitive dynamics and cultural influences - drove a large inflow of capital during this tumultuous period in world history. This gripping book demonstrates how the realms of finance and politics - of bankers and Bolsheviks - grew increasingly intertwined, and how investing in Russia became a political act with unforeseen repercussions.

"A brilliantly conceived dual-track account of the two greatest economic crises of the last century and their consequences"--

As the global market expands, the need for international regulation becomes urgent Since World War II, financial crises have been the result of macroeconomic instability until the fatidic week end of September 15 2008, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. The financial system had become the source of its own instability through a combination of greed, lousy underwriting, fake ratings and regulatory negligence. From that date, governments tried to put together a new regulatory framework that would avoid using taxpayer money for bailout of banks. In an uncoordinated effort, they produced a series of vertical regulations that are disconnected from one another. That will not be sufficient to stop finance from being instable and the need for international and horizontal regulation is urgent. This challenge is the focus of Georges Ugeux’s book. International Finance Regulation: The Quest for Financial Stability focuses on the inspirations behind regulation, and examines the risks and consequences of fragmentation on a global scale. Author Georges Ugeux has four decades of experience in the legal and economic aspects of international business operations. He created and run the New York Stock Exchange’sinternational group in charge of developing the NYSE’s reach to non-US companies, including relationships with regulators and governments. Ugeux teaches European Banking and Finance of the Columbia University School of Law. Ugeux is uniquely positioned to provide recommendations and suggestions from the perspective of a top global authority. In the book, he explores international regulation with topics such as: • Laws, regulations, and risks of overregulation • Transformation of the U.S. market and creation of the Eurozone • Development of a global framework and stability of the banking system • In-depth examination of Basel III, the Dodd-Frank Act, the European Banking Union, and the Volcker Rule The book also contains case studies from real-world scenarios like Lehman, CDS, Greece, the London Whale, and Libor to illustrate the concepts presented. Finance consistently operates within an increasingly global paradigm, and an overarching regulation scheme is becoming more and more necessary for sustainable growth. International Finance Regulation: The Quest for Financial Stability presents an argument for collaboration toward a comprehensive global regulation strategy.

Authoritarian regimes in many countries, and the men that lead them, depend on the international management of licit and illicit funds under their control. Frank Vogl shows that curbing their activities for their kleptocratic clients is critical to secure democracy, enhance national security, and ensure international financial stability.