This book offers insights into the contemporary issues in banking with a special focus on the recent European regulatory reforms, governance and the performance of firms. Written by prestigious professors and expert academics in the field, the book also covers a diverse set of topics that have gained great importance in this sector such as firm financing, culture, risk and other challenges faced by banks. The book is of interest to scholars, students and professionals in banking.

This special edition includes studies by the University of Malta, MSc Banking and Finance graduates and the respective lecturers, on financial services within particular countries or regions and studies of themes such as credit risk management, fund management and evaluation, forex hedging using derivatives and sovereign fixed income portfolios.

This book showcases recent academic work on contemporary issues in financial institutions and markets. It covers a broad range of topics, highlighting the diverse nature of academic research in banking and finance. As a consequence the contributions cover a wide range of issues across a broad spectrum, including: capital structure arbitrage, credit rating agencies, credit default swap spreads, market power in the banking industry and stock returns. This timely collection offers fresh insights and understandings into the ongoing debates within and between the academic and professional finance communities. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Finance.

Contemporary Issues in Development Finance provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of theoretical and policy issues in development finance from both the domestic and the external finance perspectives and emphasizes addressing the gaps in financial markets. The chapters cover topical issues such as microfinance, private sector financing, aid, FDI, remittances, sovereign wealth, trade finance, and the sectoral financing of agricultural and infrastructural projects. Readers will acquire both breadth and depth of knowledge in critical and contemporary issues in development finance from a philosophical and yet pragmatic development impact approach. The text ensures this by carefully integrating the relevant theoretical underpinnings, empirical assessments, and practical policy issues into its analysis. The work is designed to be fully accessible to practitioners with only a limited theoretical economic background, allowing them to deeply engage with the book as useful reference material. Readers may find more advanced information and technical details provided in clear, concise boxes throughout the text. Finally, each chapter is fully supported by a set of review questions and by cases and examples from developing countries, particularly those in Africa. This book is a valuable resource for both development finance researchers and students taking courses in development finance, development economics, international finance, financial development policy, and economic policy management. Practitioners will find the development impact, policy, and conceptual analysis dimensions insightful analysing and designing intervention strategies.

Including studies on different topical issues in finance by the participants of the 8th international scientific conference “New Challenges of Economic and Business Development – 2016” this new work contains research from various European countries, specifically Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta, and Poland.

This authoritative guide to the transformation of the Bank of England into a modern inflation-targeting independent central bank examines a revolution in monetary and economic policy and the modernization of British institutions in the late twentieth century.

This book sheds light on current issues in sustainable finance through an in-depth analysis and discussion of relevant sustainable products and sustainable initiatives of several financial institutions. This edited collection critically presents and discusses several relevant theoretical issues, case studies of innovative financial products and sustainable institutions, as well as empirically investigates issues related to both financial and social performance. The book focuses on several innovative products across the sustainable finance ecosystem, including social impact bonds, crowdfunding and green bonds. Similarly, the book spotlights the sustainable investment strategies of institutions ranging from family foundations to asset managers.

"This book explores the concept of a global industry through case studies, emerging research, and interdisciplinary perspectives applicable to a variety of fields in banking and finance"--Provided by publisher.

Unlike many other works in this area, this research is devoted to the micro issues of banking. There are many excellent texts that study the macroeconomics of banking, and the role of financial institutions in a monetary economy. This area [micro issues] of banking is important. Bank professionals require a thorough grounding in the micro foundations of banking, if they are to make important managerial decisions, or implement banking policies. What exactly will be the nature of the future of banking? These pages provide you with comprehensive insight into where banking is going. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject, this study begins by looking at the traditional theory of banking. A bank is a financial firm which offers loan and deposit products on the market. The intermediary role played by banks, another area of our interest, is the reason why banks exist in modern economies. The main objective of Chapter 2 is to provide an overview of bank structures and related issues in industrialised countries, developing economies and emerging markets in Eastern Europe. Chapter 2 also considers various stylised facts on contemporary banking. It reveals some large differences between countries in the way banks operate. It reviews various performance measures of banks, and considers the results of several investigations of bank performance. The remaining part of the research analyses modern trends of Global banking development. During the course of study the following trends were recognised as major and the most noteworthy ones: Consolidation, Globalisation, Development of Information Technology, Risk Management, Competition, The Euro, Regulation, Development in Asset Management.

Islamic finance is one of the fastest growing segments in the global financial market. However, while the principles and concepts of Islamic finance date since the founding of Islam, it is only recently that widespread application and practice has developed. Further, while predominately Muslim countries obviously fuel the growth of Islamic finance world-wide, both Islamic and conventional financial institutions in countries with smaller Muslim populations, including the UK, the US, and in Europe, are increasingly providing Shariah-compliant financial products and services. The recent global financial crisis especially has encouraged customers and regulators in many countries to consider Islamic finance as an alternative to conventional financial systems. This book compiles recent and cutting edge research in Islamic finance, including Islamic banking, and provides a useful starting point for discussion and policy formulation for academic, industry and government researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students alike throughout the world. Contributors to the volume include academics with Islamic finance expertise and practitioners and policymakers with a long history of involvement in the sector from across four countries. This mix ensures that the book has comprehensive coverage of many of the issues involved, is highly accessible to the professional and non-professional reader alike, and that it will serve as an authoritative source of information on Islamic finance for years to come.