This paper offers a comprehensive comparison of the structure of banking and financial markets in the euro area. Based on this, several hypotheses about the role of banks in monetary policy transmission are developed. Many of the predictions that have been proposed for the U.S. are deemed...

L. Albert Hahn published the first edition of the 'Economic Theory of Bank Credit' in 1920 and a radically revised third edition in 1930. 'Economic Theory of Bank Credit' is a clear exposition of a theory of credit and stands in the tradition of Harley Withers, Henry Macleod, and Knut Wicksell....