The U.S. banking system differs from many countries both in the range of services supplied and the complexity of operations. Meanwhile, the U.S. financial markets have become the attraction of worldwide investors. This book explains the three key aspects of the industry: the laws governing the banking institutions, the regulations thereof, and their economics and financial statements in a manner not covered by any competitive publications, of interest to both professionals and scholars who want to better grasp this industry. Auditing a bank and/or liquidating a bank require a set of rules not always well understood. The book provides such an overview.

Dalvinder Singh provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the legal aspects of prudential supervision. This gives the reader a broader understanding of the core processes of banking supervision. By using the UK as a case study, a comparison is made with the US to illustrate the different ways of approaching the issues. The author examines the legal as well as the theoretical, economic, political and policy issues that underpin the purpose of prudential supervision, such as corporate governance, enforcement sanctions, the role of external auditors and accountability of financial regulators. These are considered in the context of broad-policy considerations which render prudential supervision necessary, namely financial stability and depositor protection. The book will be of interest to academics, policymakers, regulators and practitioners, and equally will serve specialist undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in law, management and economics which focus on financial regulation.

​This book explores some relevant distortions and market failures in financial and banking markets caused by the recent financial crisis and offers important insights to policymakers as well. After having introduced the reader to the economic background behind the origin of the present financial turmoil, the book proposes a distinct angle to look at some macro and microeconomic aspects. The volume discusses whether and to what extent policies, implemented by governments and monetary authorities to countervail bank defaults and avoid a disastrous financial instability, have in some way determined opportunistic conducts (moral hazard), changes in banks’ behaviour, distortive incentives and market failures. Furthermore, the book offers a viewpoint on the effects of the evolution of regulation for the banking sector. Finally, the book assesses how the increase in the cost of funding and the shrinking in credit supply (credit crunch) has modified the financial structure of small and medium firms. To illustrate this, some specific cases at Italian regional level are examined.