This volume reviews state-of-the-art theories of banking and finance, and assesses their implications for policy-making. It focuses in particular on Eastern and Western Europe, and compares Anglo-American and Continental European forms of financial markets.

1. Introduction Colin Mayer and Xavier Vives; 2. Efficient governance structure: implications for banking Mathias Dewatripont and Jean Tirole; 3. Bank loan maturity and priority when borrowers can refinance Douglas Diamond; 4. Stock markets and resource allocation Franklin Allen; 5. Informational capacity and financial collapse Douglas Gale; 6. Financial intermediation and economic development Robert G. King and Ross Levine; 7. Creditor passivity and bankruptcy: implications for economic reform Janet Mitchell; 8. Enterprise debt and economic transformation: restructuring in Central and Eastern Europe David Begg and Richard Portes; 9. Bank regulation reputation and rents: theory and political implications Arnoud W. Boot and Stuart Greenbaum; 10. Relationship banking, deposit insurance and bank portfolio choice David Besanko and Anjan V. Thakor; 11. Competition and bank performance: a theoretical perspective Michael Riordan.