Banks at Risk

In the wake of the financial crisis of 2008 the practices of the entire global financial services industry have been called into question. From the government, to the media, to the general public, everyone is re-thinking the way forward for the financial sector, but the stakes are high. Should negative trends in the industry continue and financial innovations allow fallout from the next crisis to grow exponentially, the endgame could be the sort of mutually assured destruction that topples entire economies. Charting the way forward for financial services reform requires a fundamental reappraisal of how things are done in order to avert disaster in the near future, and Banks at Risk: Global Best Practices in an Age of Turbulence explores what the future holds, by talking to experts in the know.

Compiling the insights of ten key figures in the financial services industry—regulators, commercial bankers, risk managers, and infrastructure specialists—who look at both strategic and operational issues in their assessments of how to clean up the industry and move towards a system of properly-managed risk, the book explores exactly what we need to do to prevent another crisis.

Sharing their thoughts for the first time are Liu Mingkang, the Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission; Eric Rosengren, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; Joel Werkama, Assistant Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; Jane Diplock, former chairperson of the International Organization of Securities Commissions and the former head of New Zealand’s securities commission; Jose Maria Roldan, head of the banking supervision at the Bank of Spain; Jesus Saurina, Director of the Financial Stability Department at the Bank of Spain; Dick Kovacevich, former chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo Bank; Mike Smith, CEO of ANZ Group and former head of HSBC’s Asia Pacific operations; Shan Weijian, Chairman and CEO of Pacific Alliance Group and former senior partner of TPG Capital; Rob Close, former CEO of CLS Group; Tham Ming Soong, Chief Risk Officer at the United Overseas Bank in Singapore; and Tsuyoshi Oyama, former head of the risk assessment division in the international affairs division of the Bank of Japan.

• Takes a unique look at the problems with the financial services industry and what can be done to fix them
• Brings together ideas for reform from numerous internationally respected figures working in the industry, many of them writing about their solutions for the first time
• Offers a remarkable insight into how to build a more sustainable future

Eminently thought provoking, Banks at Risk presents real solutions to reforming the financial services industry, from the men and women who know it best.