A survey of past financial crises, starting with the great banking collapses of the interwar period. The current turmoil has prompted a number of questions regarding both its origins and ways to avoid its repetition. The historical background and the evolving institutional framework of banking and financial systems are at the center of this book.

Introduction PART I: THE INTERWAR PERIOD Financial Depth in Three Economies: The UK, the USA, Italy The Great Depression and Britain The United States: Boom and Depression Italy: Finance in a Fascist State PART II: FINANCIAL STABILITY AND EVOLUTION IN THE POSTWAR DECADES (A 'GOLDEN AGE'?) Financial Deepening in the Three Economies The United Kingdom: Not So Stable The United States: Big Government and Big Bank Italy's Recovery PART III: THE RECENT PERIOD The Broad Framework Financial Structure of the Three Economies: Never So Deep Growth and Collapse of the Shadow Banking System in the United States A Severe Test for London as the World Financial Centre Italy: Financially More Stable, but Structural Problems Persist Conclusion

ALESSANDRO ROSELLIis Visiting Fellow at Cass Business School, City University, London. He has written extensivelyon banking, finance and economic history. Among his books: La finanza Americana; Il governatore Azzolini; Italy and Albania: Financial Relations in the Fascist Period and, with Carlo Gola, The UK Banking System and Its Regulatory and Supervisory Framework.