Capital Markets and Financial Intermediation

In this volume leading academics from Europe and North America review 'state-of-the-art' theories of banking and financial intermediation and discuss their policy implications.

Financial intermediation is currently a subject of active research on both sides of the Atlantic. The integration of European financial markets, in particular, highlights several important issues. In this volume, derived from a joint CEPR conference with the Fundacion Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (BBV), leading academics from Europe and North America review 'state-of-the-art' theories of banking and financial intermediation and discuss their policy implications. The principal focus is on the risks of increased competition, the appropriate regulation of banks, and the differences between Anglo-American and Continental European forms of financial markets. Relationship banking, stock markets and banks, banking and corporate control, financial intermediation in Eastern Europe, monetary policy and the banking system, and financial intermediation and growth are also discussed.

1. Introduction Colin Mayer and Xavier Vives; 2. Efficient governance structure: implications for banking Mathias Dewatripont and Jean Tirole; 3. Bank loan maturity and priority when borrowers can refinance Douglas Diamond; 4. Stock markets and resource allocation Franklin Allen; 5. Informational capacity and financial collapse Douglas Gale; 6. Financial intermediation and economic development Robert G. King and Ross Levine; 7. Creditor passivity and bankruptcy: implications for economic reform Janet Mitchell; 8. Enterprise debt and economic transformation: restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe David Begg and Richard Portes; 9. Bank regulation reputation and rents: theory and political implications Arnoud W. Boot and Stuart Greenbaum; 10. Relationship banking, deposit insurance and bank portfolio choice David Besanko and Anjan V. Thakor; 11. Competition and bank performance: a theoretical perspective Michael Riordan.

This volume reviews state-of-the-art theories of banking and finance, and assesses their implications for policy-making. It focuses in particular on Eastern and Western Europe, and compares Anglo-American and Continental European forms of financial markets.