The financial systems of developed countries are evolving at a faster rate than ever before in the direction of market solutions to all problems, while many securities markets have become global in scope. The thirteen essays in this volume consist of papers read by leading European academics in the fields of banking and finance. The first four chapters deal with the evolution in general terms, while the remaining chapters are concerned with the impact of the changes on different parts of the financial system.

Notes on the Contributors - PART 1: THE LATEST PHASE IN THE EVOLUTION OF FINANCIAL SYSTEMS - A New Look at the Evolution of the Financial System; T.M.Rybczynski - The Banking Industry in the Nineties: Do Emerging Trends Challenge the Theory?; J.Metais - The Future of 'Traditional Banking'; E.P.M.Gardener - Comments of Discussants; J-P.Abraham, J.Revell, F.Cesarini, G.Bergendahl & J.Quesada - PART 2: THE RESPONSE OF BANKING SYSTEMS TO SECURITISATION - Bank Lending and the Securitisation Process: a Comparative Analysis; A.Landi & G.Lusignani - The Efficient Management of Risk in Financial Systems: Universal Bank or Securitisation?; E.Montanaro & M.Pompella - Trends in German Banking; L.Schuster - Universal Banks, Ownership and Efficiency: a Stochastic Frontier Analysis of the German Banking Market; Y.Altunbas, L.Evans & P.Molyneux - The Restructuring of Banking Groups in Italy: Major Issues; E.Gualandri - Recent Developments in Retail Banking in Scandinavia: Narrow v. Universal Banking; T.Lindblom & M.Andersson - Universal Banking in Central and Eastern Europe; S.Ligeti - Technical Progress in Spanish Banking, 1985-94; J.Maudos, J.M.Pastor & J.Quesada - The Internationalisation of Dutch Banks: a New Beginning?; S.Sijbrands & D.J.Eppink - Index