YASUSHI SUZUKI Professor of Finance at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan. His main work is on the institutional political economy of financial development, and he has published on the Japanese financial system and the bank rent effects in South and East Asia.

• Introduction and Summary Theoretical Framework and Basic Analysis of Monitoring Activities Characteristics of the 'Traditional' Japanese and Anglo-American Financial Systems Economic Environmental Changes and Institutional Changes The LTCB Collapse: A Case Study Intensified Uncertainty: The Political and Economic Reality of the 1997-98 Financial Crisis and Prolonged Financial Stagnation in Japan Transition Failure Conclusions Bibliography