A Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Bloomberg Businessweek Book of the Year Why our banking system is broken—and what we must do to fix it New bank failures have been a rude awakening for everyone who believed that the banking industry was reformed after the Global Financial Crisis—and that we’d never again have to choose between massive bailouts and financial havoc. The Bankers’ New Clothes uncovers just how little things have changed—and why banks are still so dangerous. Writing in clear language that anyone can understand, Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig debunk the false and misleading claims of bankers, regulators, politicians, academics, and others who oppose effective reform, and they explain how the banking system can be made safer and healthier. Thoroughly updated for a world where bank failures have made a dramatic return, this acclaimed and important book now features a new preface and four new chapters that expose the shortcomings of current policies and reveal how the dominance of banking even presents dangers to the rule of law and democracy itself.

Europe is stumbling from crisis to crisis. The financial and debt crises are endangering the European currency union; referenda in several EU countries show widespread Euroscepticism; the economy is only slowly regaining momentum; unemployment remains high in many Member States; and the refugee crisis has deepened political divisions. We need an answer to the question of how to rescue the Euro and keep Europe together. In this volume, renowned German researchers and leading practitioners provide pragmatic recommendations. Their plea for a democratically legitimized Euro Finance Minister, a new economic approach, a common Eurozone budget, and minimum social standards are the prerequisites for a fair, stable, and prosperous Europe.

Europe’s banking system is weighed down by high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), which are holding down credit growth and economic activity. This discussion note uses a new survey of European country authorities and banks to examine the structural obstacles that discourage banks from addressing their problem loans. A three pillared strategy is advocated to remedy the situation, comprising: (i) tightened supervisory policies, (ii) insolvency reforms, and (iii) the development of distressed debt markets.

The SDN elaborates the case for, and the design of, a banking union for the euro area. It discusses the benefits and costs of a banking union, presents a steady state view of the banking union, elaborates difficult transition issues, and briefly discusses broader EU issues. As such, it assesses current plans and provides advice. It is accompanied by three background technical notes that analyze in depth the various elements of the banking union: a single supervisory framework; a single resolution and common safety net; and urgent issues related to repair of weak banks in Europe.

For over 2,000 years, banks have served to facilitate the exchange of money and to provide a variety of economic and financial services. During the most recent financial collapse and subsequent recession, beginning in 2008, banks have been vilified as perpetrators of the crisis, the public distrust compounded by massive public bailouts. Nevertheless, another form of banking has also emerged, with a focus on promoting economic sustainability, investing in community, providing opportunity for the disadvantaged, and supporting social, environmental, and ethical agendas. Social Banking and Social Finance traces the emergence of the “bank with a conscience” and proposes a new approach to banking in the wake of the economic crisis. Featuring innovations and initiatives in banking from Europe, Canada, and the United States, Roland Benedikter presents an alternative to traditional banking practices that are focused exclusively on profit maximization. He argues that social banking is not about changing the system, but about improving some of its core features by putting into use the "triple bottom line" principle of profit-people-planet. Important lessons can be learned by the success of social banks that may be useful for the greater task of improving the global financial system and avoiding economic crises in the future.

The EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) will shape what the EU achieves in the second half of this decade. This report is set against the themes of the EU's "Europe 2020 strategy": smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The report includes three principal recommendations: Common Agricultural Policy must be reformed; the EU's budget must not grow in real terms; the EU must spend its money more carefully. The Common Agricultural Policy must be reformed to release resources for other priorities, including research. One third of the EU's budget still goes on agricultural subsidies. Overall funding must be reduced. And the CAP must shift resources behind rural development (pillar two) from production (pillar one). The Committee calls for an end to trade-distorting subsidies, and a focus on today's challenges: global food security, biodiversity and climate change. The Committee found proposals for new EU revenue streams or taxes (own resources) to be an 'unfortunate distraction' on which it will be impossible to reach agreement. It also recommends that the Financial Framework be for five years, not seven as at present, so that it has more flexibility to respond to changing events - such as recent events in North Africa - and economic circumstances, like the financial crisis. EU mismanagement of large scale projects is unacceptable. And the EU's regional development funds should go to where they are most needed: the EU's poorest countries. And the EU should not spend at all where EU spending adds no value compared with spending at national or regional level.