A Tea Reader contains a selection of stories that cover the spectrum of life. This anthology shares the ways that tea has changed lives through personal, intimate stories. Read of deep family moments, conquered heartbreak, and peace found in the face of loss. A Tea Reader includes stories from all types of tea people: people brought up in the tea tradition, those newly discovering it, classic writings from long-ago tea lovers and those making tea a career. Together these tales create a new image of a tea drinker. They show that tea is not simply something you drink, but it also provides quiet moments for making important decisions, a catalyst for conversation, and the energy we sometimes need to operate in our lives. The stories found in A Tea Reader cover the spectrum of life, such as the development of new friendships, beginning new careers, taking dream journeys, and essentially sharing the deep moments of life with friends and families. Whether you are a tea lover or not, here you will discover stories that speak to you and inspire you. Sit down, grab a cup, and read on.

Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016 focuses on the ability of financial systems to sustainably extend the maturity of financial contracts for private agents. The challenges of extending the maturity structure of finance are often considered to be at the core of effective, sustainable financial development. Sustainably extending long-term finance may contribute to the objectives of higher growth and welfare, shared prosperity and stability in two ways: by reducing rollover risks for borrowers, thereby lengthening the horizon of investments; and by increasing the availability of long-term financial instruments, thereby allowing households to address their lifecycle challenges. The aim of the report is to contribute to the global policy debate on long-term finance. It builds upon findings from recent and ongoing research, lessons from operational work, as well as on inputs from financial sector professionals and researchers both within and outside the World Bank Group. Benefitting from new worldwide datasets and information on financial development, it will provide a broad and balanced review of the evidence and distill pragmatic lessons on long-term finance and related policies. This report, the third in the Global Financial Development Report series, follows the second issue on Financial Inclusion and the inaugural issue, Rethinking the Role of the State in Finance. The Global Financial Development Report 2015/2016 will be accompanied by a website worldbank.org/financialdevelopment containing extensive datasets, research papers, and other background materials as well as interactive features.

This book is a practical guide to the evolving landscape of finance, highlighting how it’s changing our relationship with money and how financial technology, together with macroeconomic and societal change, is rewriting the story of how business is done in developing economies. Financial services companies are trying to become more customer focused, but struggling to help huge customer segments, particularly in developing economies. Alternative financial models and tools are emerging, which are being embraced by consumers and incumbents. In large parts of the developing world, alternative services are leapfrogging traditional finance, meaning more and more people have access to finance without ever needing a bank. Meanwhile, the barriers around financial services companies are crumbling, as they become more reliant on integration with new providers and alternative types of service. Financial products can no longer be viewed in isolation, but as part of a service landscape that supports how people do life. This means rethinking how our businesses are designed, motivated and organised, and letting go of the old ways of thinking about supply and demand. With practical steps businesses and, in particular, financial services organisations need to take to participate in a global service ecosystem, this book will be of interest to financial professionals who work in banking, financial technology, and development finance.

In 1933 and 1956, the United States sharply limited the kinds of securities activities, commercial activities, and insurance activities banks could engage in. The regulations imposed on banks back then remain in place despite profound changes in the economic environment, in the structure of the national and international financial markets, and in technology. In this span of time many industries, especially those confronting global competition, have transformed themselves dramatically in their efforts to survive and prosper. Not so in the American financial services sector, banks have largely remained stuck in an antiquated regulatory structure which has placed the burden of responding to the needs of market-driven structural change on the shoulders of the regulators and the courts in a constant search for loopholes in the law. The purpose of this book is to evaluate the case for and against eliminating the barriers that have so long existed between banking and other types of financial services in the United States. Universal Banking in the United States studies the consequences of bank regulation in the U.S. as it relates to competition in international financial markets. Anthony Saunders and Ingo Walter examine universal banking systems in other countries, especially Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K., and how they work. They then apply the lessons to U.S. banking, paying particular attention to the benchmarks of stability, equity, efficiency, and competitiveness against which the performance of national financial systems should be measured. In the end, the authors propose the outlines of a level playing field on which any number of forms of organization can grow in the financial services sector, in which universal banking is one of the permitted structures, and where regulation is linked to function.

Based on a wide array of data collected by the author, this book uses clear theoretically motivated economic analysis to explain the structure, performance, and influence of universal banks and securities markets on firms during industrialisation. The German universal banks played a significant but not overwhelming role in the ownership and control of corporate firms. Banks gained access to boards via a confluence of their underwriting and brokerage activities, the legal phenomena of bearer shares and deposited voting rights, and the flourishing securities markets of the turn of the twentieth century. In general, bank relationships had little impact on firm performance; stock market listings, or ownership structure, were more important. The findings show that securities markets can thrive within a civil-law, universal-bank system and suggest that financial system complexity can favour rapid industrial expansion.

This handbook provides an overview and analysis of state-of-the-art research in banking written by researchers in the field. It includes abstract theory, empirical analysis, and practitioner and policy-related material.

The Oxford Handbook of Banking, Second Edition provides an overview and analysis of developments and research in banking written by leading researchers in the field. This handbook will appeal to graduate students of economics, banking and finance, academics, practitioners, regulators, and policy makers. Consequently, the book strikes a balance between abstract theory, empirical analysis, and practitioner, and policy-related material. The Handbook is split into five parts. Part I, The Theory of Banking, examines the role of banks in the wider financial system, why banks exist, how they function, and their corporate governance and risk management practices. Part II deals with Bank Operations and Performance. A range of issues are covered including bank performance, financial innovation, and technological change. Aspects relating to small business, consumer, and mortgage lending are analysed together with securitization, shadow banking, and payment systems. Part III entitled Regulatory and Policy Perspectives discusses central banking, monetary policy transmission, market discipline, and prudential regulation and supervision. Part IV of the book covers various Macroeconomic Perspectives in Banking. This part includes a discussion of systemic risk and banking and sovereign crises, the role of the state in finance and development as well as how banks influence real economic activity. The final Part V examines International Differences in Banking Structures and Environments. This part of the Handbook examines banking systems in the United States, European Union, Japan, Africa, Transition countries, and the developing nations of Asia and Latin America.

"An excellent book. . . . [It] provides a unique picture of the processes of globalist institution transformation in a crucial, less developed country."—John Willoughby, American University

Based on a wide array of data collected by the author, this book uses clear theoretically motivated economic analysis to explain the structure, performance, and influence of universal banks and securities markets on firms during industrialisation. The German universal banks played a significant but not overwhelming role in the ownership and control of corporate firms. Banks gained access to boards via a confluence of their underwriting and brokerage activities, the legal phenomena of bearer shares and deposited voting rights, and the flourishing securities markets of the turn of the twentieth century. In general, bank relationships had little impact on firm performance; stock market listings, or ownership structure, were more important. The findings show that securities markets can thrive within a civil-law, universal-bank system and suggest that financial system complexity can favour rapid industrial expansion.