For nearly three centuries the spectacular rise and fall of the South Sea Company has gripped the public imagination as the most graphic warning to investors of the dangers of unbridled speculation. Yet history repeats itself and the same elemental forces that drove up the price of South Sea...

1) Deposit Insurance in Theory and Practice by Richard Dale. 2) Lending of Last Resort and Systemic Stability in the Eurozone by Christian de Boissieu and Franco Bruni. The first paper overviews theoretical arguments for and against deposit insurance, a system that can be aimed at consumer...

The trend towards globalisation of financial markets has been given further impetus in recent years by the dismantling of exchange controls, a dramatic rise in cross-border investment flows and increased access to domesticbanking markets by foreign institutions. At the same time, banking can no...

In recent years loan loss provisions have become the major determinant of bank profitability levels and have had a significant impact upon capital adequacy measures. Given the implications of such matters for the overall stability of the financial system, it is important to understand the...

This article examines the new regulatory framework for European securities markets, focusing in particular on capital adequacy requirements and the attempts of policy- makers to establish a 'level playing field' between banks and non-bank investment firms. The major conclusion is that whilst the...