Shadow Banking

By analyzing the growth and regulation of shadow banking activities by large banks in Western Europe and the US, this book illuminates how the evolution of finance, driven by structural pressures and financial innovations, is crucially mediated through state-finance interactions on the meaning of rules and the need to comply.

This global handbook provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of shadow banking, or market-based finance as it has been recently coined. Engaging in financial intermediary services outside of normal regulatory parameters, the shadow banking sector was arguably a critical factor in causing the 2007-2009 financial crisis. This volume focuses specifically on shadow banking activities, risk, policy and regulatory issues. It evaluates the nexus between policy design and regulatory output around the world, paying attention to the concept of risk in all its dimensions—the legal, financial, market, economic and monetary perspectives. Particular attention is given to spillover risk, contagion risk and systemic risk and their positioning and relevance in shadow banking activities. Newly introduced and incoming policies are evaluated in detail, as well as how risk is managed, observed and assessed, and how new regulation can potentially create new sources of risk. Volume I concludes with analysis of what will and still needs to happen in the event of another crisis. Proposing innovative suggestions for improvement, including a novel Pigovian tax to tame financial and systemic risks, this handbook is a must-read for professionals and policy-makers within the banking sector, as well as those researching economics and finance.

Shadow banking – a system of credit creation outside traditional banks – lies at the very heart of the global economy. It accounts for over half of global banking assets, and represents a third of the global financial system. Although the term ‘shadow banking’ only entered public discourse in 2007, the importance and scope of this system is now widely recognised by the international policy-makers. There is, however, much less consensus on the origins of the shadow banking system, what role it plays in global political economy and the optimal approach to regulating this complex segment of finance. This volume addresses these questions. Shadow Banking is the first study to bring together the insights from financial regulators, practitioners and academics from across the social sciences. The first part traces the evolution and ongoing confusion about the meaning of ‘shadow banking’. The second section draws major lessons about shadow banking as posed by the financial crisis of 2007–09, providing comparative analyses in the US and Europe, and attempts to establish why shadow banking has emerged and matured to the level of a de facto parallel financial system. Finally, the third part goes beyond current regulatory concerns about shadow banking and explains why it is ‘here to stay’. This volume is of great importance to political economy, banking and international political economy.

An authoritative guide to the rise of Chinese shadow banking and its systemic implications Shadow Banking in China examines this rapidly growing sector in the Chinese economy, and what it means for your investments. Written by two world-class experts in Chinese banking, including the Chief Advisor to the China Banking Regulatory Commission and former Chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong, this book is unique in providing true, first-hand perspectives from authorities within the world's largest economy. There is little widely-available information on China's shadow banking developments, and much of it is rife with disparate data, inaccuracies and overblown risks due to definitional and measurement differences. This book clears the confusion by supplying accurate information, on-the-ground context and invaluable national balance sheet analysis you won't find anywhere else. Shadow banking has grown to be a key source of credit in China, and a major component of the economy. This book serves as a primer for analysts and investors seeking real, useful information about the sector to better inform investment decisions. Discover what's driving the growth of shadow banking in China Learn the truth about both real and inflated risks Dig into popular rhetoric and clarify common misconceptions Access valuable data previously not published in English Despite shadow banking's critical influence on the Chinese economy, there have been very few official studies and even fewer books written on the subject. Understanding China's present-day economy and forecasting its future requires an in-depth understanding of shadow banking and its inter-relationship with the banking system and other sectors. Shadow Banking in China provides authoritative reference that will prove valuable to anyone with financial interests in China.

Research Handbook on Shadow Banking brings together a range of international experts to discuss shadow banking activities, the purposes they serve, the risks they pose to the financial system and implications for regulators and the regulatory perimeter. Including discussions specific to the UK, European Union, US, China and Singapore, this book offers high level and theoretical perspectives on shadow banking and regulatory risks, as well as more detailed explorations of specific markets in shadow banking.

This comparative study explores how shadow banking differs from the traditional banking system. It discusses the origins, history, purposes, risks, regulatory constraints, and projected future evolution of both financial sectors of the world economy. This thorough examination of non-bank financial intermediaries follows the migration of services from traditional banks to less-regulated alternative banking products, as well as the evolution of regulations and the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor these new entities. Three chapters explore in depth the major financial structures newly designated as systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs), with particular attention to insurance companies such as MetLife, which seek exemption from the designation. Finally, the focus shifts to international financial institutions' efforts to protect consumers and curtail irresponsible shadow banks, with an eye toward the effects of these actions on future banking practices.

How do market participants construct stable markets? Why do crises that seem inevitable after-the-fact routinely take market participants by surprise? What forces trigger financial panics, and why does uncertainty lead to market volatility? How do economic elites respond to financial distress, and why are some regulatory interventions more effective than others? Social Finance: Shadow Banking during the Global Financial Crisis answers these questions by presenting a new, economic conventions-based model of financial crises. This model emerges from a theoretical synthesis of several intellectual traditions, including Keynesian epistemology, Hyman Minsky’s asset market theory, economic sociology, and international relations theory. Social Finance uses this new paradigm to explain instability in the global shadow banking system during the global financial crisis. And it presents the results of interviews with some of the world’s leading investors – who saw over $2 trillion in annual order flows and managed over $160 billion in assets – to provide first-hand accounts of markets in crisis. Written in accessible prose, Social Finance will appeal to a broad audience of academics, policymakers, and practitioners interested in understanding the drivers of financial stability in the twenty-first century.

This timely book investigates the dynamic causes, key forms, potential risks and changing regulation of shadow banking in China. Topics discussed include P2P lending, wealth management products, local government debts, and the underground lending market. Taking policy considerations into account, the author provides a comprehensive analysis of the regulatory instruments tackling the systemic risks in relation to China's shadow banking sector. Central bank's role, interest rate formation mechanism, exchange rate reform and further deepening reform of the regulatory regime and financial markets are also thoroughly discussed in the context of China's continuing financial reform.