Abstract
This book examines several contemporary issues which are shaping corporate governance in the banking sector. These issues have been evolving over the past decade and even more so since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC, 2007-09) revealed many significant weaknesses in corporate governance structures at banks. Alongside major reforms to the architecture of the global financial system, like the introduction of the Basel 3 Accord, the post-GFC emergence of new issues and acceleration in the importance of others is affecting banks, their competitiveness and business models, and their governance structures. For instance, the emergence and rapid growth of FinTech (financial technology), the increasing focus of government and society on CSR (corporate social responsibility) and ESG (environment, social and governance) investing that speaks to the generational issue of the environment, climate change and associated risks. On top of these developments came the COVID-19 health pandemic that has impacted banks and significantly increased the rate of digitalization. Given the many challenges culminating around banks, this book in three sections provides a timely comparison of the factors influencing corporate governance at banks before and after the GFC, and will be of interest to researchers and students in banking and corporate finance alongside practitioners and policymakers. Timothy King is a Professor of Finance at the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Vaasa, Finland. He is also an External Examiner at the Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow (UK) (Undergraduate, Masters and MBA programmes) and an External Examiner at Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University (UK) (Postgraduate programmes) alongside being a member of the European Association of Teachers of Banking and Finance (The Wolpertinger Group). Jonathan Williams is a Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Surrey, UK. Professor Williams is the Chair of the European Association of Teachers of Banking and Finance (The Wolpertinger Group), Treasurer of the Financial Markets and Institutions Special Interest Group of BAFA (British Accounting and Finance Association), and a member of the Chartered Banker Institute's Quality and Standards Committee. He is the Series Editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions.