Banking in Crisis
Banking in Crisis is the first book to tell the story of the rise and fall of British banking stability over the past two centuries. It sheds new light on why banking systems crash and on the factors underpinning banking stability. Why was the British banking system stable for such a long time? Why did the British banking system implode in 2008? In answering these questions, the book explores the long-run evolution of bank regulation, the role of the Bank of England, bank rescues and the need to hold shareholders to account.
Praise for Banking in Crisis
"Banking in Crisis combines the very best of serious academic scholarship and keen policy analysis. It should be required reading for anyone who is interested in the past, present, and future of British banking."
— Richard S. Grossman, Wesleyan University, Connecticut
"What makes for stable banking? Bankers are prone to gamble with depositors' money. What keeps them honest is a personal stake or tight regulation. Turner shows that since 1825, stability required either the one or the other and that relaxation of discipline, whatever its advantages, has placed the financial system at risk. The past worked for a long time, and the present doesn't."
— Avner Offer, University of Oxford
"John Turner has done the community of banking scholars, regulators and policymakers a great service by writing an account of two centuries of British banking. It is timely, scholarly and most of all highly readable. A must-read for students at all levels. Highly recommended."
— Kent Matthews, Cardiff University
"This elegant history by John D. Turner of British joint-stock commercial banking spans the period of its birth after the country bank crisis of the 1820s to the moment of its own calamity in 2007-8 ... an excellent and stimulating addition to the literature. With so much historical detail in one place, I expect my copy will become well-thumbed."
— Duncan Needham, English Historical Review
"Turner has written a timely and admirable book, one that belongs on the shelf (or in the Kindle) of all financial historians, and all policymakers involved in formulating regulations for financial institutions."
— Hugh Rockoff, Journal of Economic History