The Oxford Handbook of Banking

The Oxford Handbook of Banking provides an overview and analysis of state-of-the-art research in banking written by leading researchers in the field. This handbook will appeal to graduate students of economics, banking and finance, academics, practitioners 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 legal and governance structures. Part II entitled Regulatory and Policy Perspectives discusses monetary policy, prudential regulation and supervision, and antitrust policy. Part III deals with Bank Performance. A number of issues are assessed including efficiency, financial innovation and technological change, globalization and ability to deliver small business, consumer, and mortgage lending services. Part IV of the book provides an overview of Macroeconomic Perspectives in Banking. This part includes a discussion of the determinants of bank failures and crises, and the impact on financial stability, institutional development, and economic growth. Part V examines International Differences in Banking Structures and Environments. This part of the handbook examines banking systems in the United States, Western Europe, Transition countries, Latin America, Japan and the developing nations of Asia.

Allen N. Berger was Senior Economist from 1989 to 2008 and Economist from 1982-1989 at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. He has published more than 100 articles, including papers in the Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review, Journal of Monetary Economics, Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, and Review of Financial Studies. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1983, and a BA in Economics from Northwestern University in 1976.


Philip Molyneux's research interests include competition, risk and performance in European banking, and developments in global wealth management. In 2001 he was the Visiting Bertill Daniellson Research Fellow at the Stockholm School of Economics and University of Gothenburg. Between 2002 and 2005 he acted as a member of the ECON Financial Services expert panel for the European Parliament. He has held visiting Professorships at Bocconi University, Erasmus University, and Bolzano Free University (Italy).


John O.S. Wilson's research interests focus on the areas of European Banking, UK and US Credit Unions, and Financial Exclusion. He has been involved in work that examines the profitability and growth of European banks; competition, risk, and performance in European banking; growth, development, diversification, technology adoption, mergers, and performance of credit unions, and their role in tackling financial exclusion.