This a modern discussion of the systemic safety and soundness of the EU banking and financial system, carrying through to the challenges and lessons faced by the US in the regulatory failures in Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic Bank in 2023. Banking systems are mandated to deliver efficiency, growth, fairness, and stability in a world subject to both real and financial sector turbulence as well as structural complexity. So it is in the United States and to an even greater extent in Europe, with its fiscal stresses paralleling monetary unification. Much can be and has been learned from these stresses and the regulatory designs and their implementation for managing in the interest of the public. Sequential chapters review monetary regimes and bank regulatory approaches, micro- and macro-prudential regulation and its links to monetary and financial stability, and the elephant in the room—the regulatory implications of "too big to fail" institutions and virtually instantaneous bank runs in the absence of unlimited sovereign deposit guarantees. This is an excellent, timely book recommended for college and university libraries. Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals.

Choice Reviews

After the collapse of SVB and Credit Suisse, Nikolay Gertchev's book is more relevant and important than ever. Lombard Street for the 21st century. The work is mandatory reading for all students of modern money and banking.

Philipp Bagus, Rey Juan Carlos University

What role do banks serve in the modern financial system? This essential book guides the reader through a logical approach to both micro- and macro-prudential regulations, arguing that market discipline and a return to clearly defined property rights in money allow for a stronger foundation for banks, promoting healthier and more robust economies. This analysis is essential reading for any and all interested in the future of banking.

David Howden, Saint Louis University-Madrid Campus

At least since the 1930s, economists have shied away from providing a systematic explanation of the causes, consequences, and evolution of banking regulation, abandoning the field to the untutored efforts of lawyers and practitioners. Not so the author of this book, Nikolay Gertchev, who considers it the professional responsibility—nay, the 'moral duty'—of economists to analyze banking regulation through the unclouded lens of economic theory. In accepting this duty, Gertchev has written a book that is a worthy successor to the last great work on banking regulation, the nineteenth-century classic Lombard Street by Walter Bagehot.

Joseph T. Salerno, Mises Institute

Though it is always good to listen to what Gertchev has to say on monetary issues, The Evolution of Banking Regulation in the European Union deserves special attention as an attempt to tackle regulatory aspects of banking in the European Union from an Austrian perspective. A fine resource for those interested in the pressing issue of European financial architecture.

Mateusz Machaj, University of Wroclaw

To understand banking regulation issues and possible ways out, there is no better source than this brilliantly written monograph. Dr. Nikolay Gertchev is a veteran practitioner of financial regulation and one of the finest economic thinkers today. His book is essential reading for politicians, financial regulators, and all students of present-day money and banking.

Guido Hülsmann, Université d'Angers