The Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions is the longest established book series covering banking and financial topics. The series started in 2005 and since then more than 130 texts have contributed to the series covering an extensive array of contemporary issues spanning financial crises, risk management, types of banking (commercial, cooperative, Islamic) as well as country studies and specific themes that are of interest to academics, bankers and policymakers alike.

Early series contributions looked at advances in Islamic banking, financial exclusion, shareholder value creation, syndicated lending and venture capital industries in addition to country studies on China, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong and a variety of emerging country banking systems. The global financial crises of 2008 and ongoing troubles in many banking systems resulted in a variety of texts looking at the consequences of the banking sector collapse, particularly in the US and Europe (including the Icelandic collapse). Concerns about restoring health to many banks was of utmost importance and this guided authors’ contributions as they focused on financial booms and busts, the future of capitalism and globalization, affordable housing and the impact of crises including sovereign debt problems. A theme running through these contributions related to appropriate risk management in individual banks and the financial system overall with a variety of texts looking at an assortment of risk issues including retail credit risk management, too big to fail, bank corporate governance, operational risk and Basel 3 regulations. The new challenges posed by the tougher operational environment also encouraged authors to investigate new banking approaches as well as corporate governance and ethical issues that had been seldom discussed before the financial meltdown.

At the same time the complex array of shocks that many banking systems had faced and the ways to deal with these events continued to interest authors – the banking systems worst hit by the crises were those in the advanced economies of the US and Europe. Many emerging markets had remained unscathed by the global financial crises so the series contributed their focus on banking in many emerging economies including those in Africa, emerging Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and also some Scandinavian countries (that were not hit by the crises). The related sovereign debt crisis hit the banking systems of peripheral euro area countries also created an increased interest in the impact of these shocks and the consequences for the banking systems of Greece, Italy and Spain that are also covered in the series.

More recently authors have turned to focus on a variety of areas not least the impact of new technologies that are transforming banking business. Series contributions examine a wide range of topics including cloud computing in the financial sector, crowdfunding, changes in payments systems, changing bank business models and the regulation of mobile money.

It is not possible in this brief summary to cover all banking and financial areas covered in the series but as you can see from above a broad range of areas are covered. Also it is essential to note that banking and financial system institutional features are extremely complex and important. The series offers commentators the opportunity to contribute to the debate about the future of banking and financial systems across the globe as well as discuss key operational and policy issues that continue to interest academics, policymakers and practitioners alike.

Hoping you enjoy the series.

Professor Philip Molyneux, Series Editor of Palgrave Macmillan Studies in Banking and Financial Institutions, is Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.