Introduction and overview

Abstract

James R. Barth, Chen Lin and Clas Wihlborg This book is aimed at researchers and students of financial institutions in academia as well as in private financial institutions and public regulatory and supervisory authorities. Its objective is to bring the reader to the frontier of research on governance of financial institutions by interpreting and reviewing current research, as well as to push the frontier by presenting original research on new aspects of financial institution governance. To inspire future research the book also includes chapters on governance policy issues that require more attention by researchers. The recent financial crisis has stimulated a debate on governance of financial institutions as well as research on effects of governance arrangements on the risk-taking, performance and behavior of financial institutions more generally. Furthermore, researchers are asking how regulation, legislation, politics and other factors influence governance of financial institutions and, thereby, their behavior in different dimensions. The contents of this book reflect this variety of research on financial institutions with governance as the unifying theme. For many countries around the world the recent financial crisis was the worst they had experienced since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Financial institutions clearly were the center of attention as a large number of them either failed or were bailed out by governments during 2007 to 2010. The lengthy list of distressed institutions includes Citigroup, Bank of America, American International Group, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the United States; PNB Paribas, Crédit Agricole and Société G...