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The advent of new digital currencies has challenged our notions about money, its function and purpose, and our faith in the financial and banking structures that underpin its legitimacy. Oonagh McDonald examines the challenges, opportunities and threats that cryptocurrencies pose to existing fiat currencies and their potential to change how global finance operates.0From Bitcoin to Facebook's Diem, the book charts the spectacular rise of cryptocurrencies over the past decade alongside the much slower regulatory response. It assesses the potential of the technology underpinning new digital currencies - blockchain, digital tokens and smart contracts - to evade existing regulatory frameworks and considers the need for more robust protection from fraudulent initial coin offerings, scams and hacks.0The book examines the motivations of central banks as they begin to explore opportunities for an alternative global digital currency, and what this might mean for the supremacy of the dollar and other fiat currencies. The future of cash is also considered. Throughout her analysis, McDonald shows that trust is fundamental to the operation of finance and that this will ultimately protect commercial bank money from the threat of new digital currencies.0The book offers readers an insightful appraisal of the future of money and the challenges facing regulatory bodies

"On September 12th 2008, Lehman Brothers was valued at 639 billion US dollars. On Monday 15th September, it was worth nothing. How could trillions of dollars seemingly melt into air? Lehman Brothers had a long and prestigious history, and certainly until the end of 2007 had appeared to be conducting a very successful business. Its collapse was the largest bankruptcy in American history and is widely regarded as a crucial event in triggering the turmoil in the markets that triggered the global financial crisis. In this book, Oonagh McDonald, the author of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, unravels the events of that fateful September weekend. Using extensive documentary evidence and interviews with former Lehman employees, she reveals the decisions that led to Lehman's collapse, looks at why the government refused a bail-out and whether the implications of this refusal were fully understood. In clear and accessible language she demonstrates both the short and long term effects of Lehman's collapse. This is a fascinating story, with very wide implications. In particular, it raises vital questions about virtual capital and artificial value. McDonald uses her study of the Lehman collapse to examine what is meant by economic value and how it should be identified and measured"--

Fortschritte in der Technologie, Konkurrenz von US-Banken und die neue zentralisierte europäische Wirtschaft bringen tiefgreifende Veränderungen für europäische Banken mit sich. Diejenigen Banken, die überleben, müssen sich rasch an die neuen Verhältnisse anpassen. "The Future of Retail Banking in Europe" basiert auf 14 Interviews mit Bankenchefs aus den Niederlanden, Frankreich, Spanien, Italien, Deutschland und Großbritannien. Hier sprechen sie ganz offen darüber, welche Zukunftsängste und Sorgen alle Fachleute im europäischen Bankwesen beschäftigen, und bewerten aktuelle und künftige Strategien. Auf diese Weise erhält der Leser einen Einblick, wie geeignete Methoden entwickelt werden, um dem Wandel im Bankwesen und der veränderten Situation im Privatkundengeschäft zu begegnen. Geschrieben von zwei führenden Experten.

This book explains the fundamental causes of the bank's failure, including the inadequacy of the regulatory and supervisory framework. For some, it was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act that was the overriding cause, not just of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, but of the financial crisis as a whole. The book argues that the cause is partly to be found both in weak and ineffective regulation and also in a programme of regulation and supervision that was simply not fit for the purpose. Lehman Brothers' long history began with three brothers, immigrants from Germany, who sold selling groceries and dry goods to local cotton farmers. Dick Fuld, the chairman and CEO, and his senior management, ignored the increased risks, choosing to rely on over-valuations of the firm's assets. The book examines the regulation of the Big Five investment banks in the context of the changes which took place in the structure of banking after the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act. It describes the introduction of the European Union's Consolidated Supervision Directive in 2004. The book examines the whole issue of valuing Lehman's assets and details the regulations covering appraisals and valuations of real estate, applicable at the time and to consider Lehman's approach in the light of these regulations. It argues that that the valuation of Lehman's real estate assets was problematic to say the least, as the regulators did not require the investment banks to adopt a recognized methodology of valuation, and that Lehman's own methods were flawed.