The book takes stock of new developments in legislation, case-law and institutions affecting prudential supervision. It also offers an analysis of the difficulties facing banking regulation during the current financial crises, including the issue of competition law in the banking sector.

Following the recent global financial crisis there is a growing interest in alternative finance – and microfinance in particular – as new instruments for providing financial services in a socially responsible way or as an alternative to traditional banking. Nonetheless, correspondingly there is also a lack of clarity about how to regulate alternative financial methods particularly in light of the financial crisis’ lessons on regulatory failure and shadow banking’s risks. This book considers microfinance from a legal and regulatory perspective. Microfinance is the provision of a wide range of financial services, particularly credit but also remittances, savings, to low-income people or financially excluded people. It combines a business structure with social inspiration, often resorts to technological innovations to lower costs (Fintech: e.g. crowdfunding and mobile banking) and merges with traditional local experiences (e.g. financial cooperatives and Islamic finance), this further complicating the regulatory picture. The book describes some of the unique dimensions of microfinance and the difficulties that this can cause for regulators, through a comparative analysis of selected European Union (EU) countries’ regimes. The focus is in fact on the EU legal framework, with some references to certain developing world experiences where relevant. The book assesses the impact and validity of current financial regulation principles and rules, in light of the most recent developments and trends in financial regulation in the wake of the financial crisis and compares microfinance with traditional banking. The book puts forward policy recommendations for regulators and policy makers to help address the challenges and opportunities offered by microfinance.

The financial market events in 2007-2009 have spurred renewed interest and controversy in debates regarding financial regulation and supervision. This book takes stock of the developments in EU legislation, case law and institutional structures with regards to banking regulation and supervision, which preceded and followed the recent financial crisis. It does not merely provide an update, but anchors these developments into the broader EU law context, challenging past paradigms and anticipating possible developments. The author provides a systematic analysis of the interactions between the content of prudential rules and the mechanisms behind their production and application European Prudential Banking Regulation and Supervision includes discussions of the European banking market structure and of regulatory theory that both aim to circumscribe prudential concerns. It scrutinises the content of prudential norms, proposes a qualification of these norms and an assessment of their interaction with other types of norms (corporate, auditing and accounting, consumer protection, competition rules). It also features an analysis of the underpinning institutional set-up and its envisaged reforms, focusing on the typical EU concerns related to checks and balances. Finally, the book attempts to revive the debate on supervisory liability, in light of the developments discussed. This book will be of great value to all those interested in financial stability matters (practitioners, policy-makers, students, academics), as well as to EU law scholars.

International Banking Regulation and Supervision: Change and Transformation in the 1990s is based on a conference which was held in Taipei on 22--24 June 1994. It represents a tightly coordinated and edited collection of scholarly and highly practical chapters prepared by leading experts on banking law. Important changes are taking place in the financial sectors in the Pacific Rim; vital roles are being played by Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei. This volume deals with the broad policy issues entailed in the liberalization and deregulation of the banking industry and is divided into two parts. Part I covers Liberalization and the Search for an Appropriate Banking Law Model, and Part II deals with Convergence of Supervisory Standards of International Banking. This collection, which was designed as a broad foundation for comparative analysis of changes and reforms occurring worldwide in international banking regulation and practice, will be an invaluable aid to all domestic and international government officials, executives of banking and other financial institutions, professionals (attorneys, accountants and other advisers) representing such institutions and academics, in trying to understand both policies and practicalities reflected by these rapid changes and reforms. A separate, but related, companion volume on international banking operations and practices has also been produced, entitled International Banking Operations and Practices: Current Developments , which deals with the relevant legal questions regarding the changing international financial practices.

This book covers the legal aspects of international trade in financial services, with a focus on the possible conflicts between international trade liberalisation norms and banking regulation.

The case of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) illustrated the many existing gaps in the international rules and standards governing bank supervision. This book deals with these rules and advocates how they should develop. It is based on the thesis that the rules essentially `percolate' from the national, regional and international levels and that these areas have become integrally interconnected. The book concludes with proposals suggesting ways of better interconnecting the national, regional and international levels through more formal, legalistic and transparent structures. The work is aimed at the financial institutions community, legal practitioners and academics. Devising International Bank Supervisory Standards is the third volume in the International Banking and Finance Law series, which has been designed to provide a broad foundation for comparative analysis of changes and reforms occurring worldwide in international banking regulation and practice. It proves a valuable tool in the comprehension of both policies and practicalities reflected by these rapid changes and reforms.

This volume covers the development of bank supervisory standards for an emerging Chinese Economic Circle (CEC) in which the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Hong Kong form an informal, interdependent relationship through their significant, increasing, inter-investment and inter-trade activities. The PRC, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are liberalising the regulation of their respective banking industries and are developing Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong into major financial centres. To do this successfully requires the integration of prudential supervision (based on banking standards from the UK, United States, EU, and Basle Committee) into Chinese Banking Law and Practice. Bankers, banking lawyers, investors, and compliance officials will appreciate the way Development of Banking Law in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan expertly brings together, in a single volume, the supervisory standards of PRC, Taiwan, and Hong Kong and offers unique, thoughtful solutions.

This book offers the first systematic discussion of a new and promising field: the economics of independence, accountability and governance of financial supervision institutions. For a long time the design of supervision had been an irrelevant issue, both in theory and practice. This perception changed dramatically in the mid-1990s, and over the past decade many countries have witnessed changes in the architecture of financial supervision. This book presents frameworks for analyzing the emerging supervisory architectures and sheds light on the different supervisory regimes, with a particular focus on the role of central banks. It takes a country-specific, comparative and empirical approach. Designing Financial Supervision Institutions will be an accessible reference tool for multidisciplinary scholars and academics (principally economics, but also politics and law), policymakers, regulators and supervisory institutions. All royalties from this book to go to the UK charity, NSPCC.

"In the aftermath of the financial crisis, the Commission took steps to stabilise the banking sector by seeking to strengthen the regulatory and supervisory framework, and by setting up the European Banking Authority (EBA). The Court's first audit in this area assessed whether the Commission and EBA had satisfactorily carried out their responsibilities in setting up the new arrangements for the regulation and supervision of the banking sector and considered what lessons could be learned for banking supervision under the new Single Supervisory Mechanism. The Court concluded that the Commission's actions, including the creation of EBA, were important first steps in response to the financial crisis. However, there were some shortcomings identified in the functioning of new arrangements in respect of cross-border banking supervision, the assessment of the resilience of EU banks and promotion of consumer protection for which the Court makes recommendations."-- Page [4] of cover.