A comparative history of bank failures : from Medici to Barings

Cover; Half Title; Series Page; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List of figures; Preface; 1. The problem with the role of banks; 1:1 What this book is all about; 1:2 A social science world view; 1:3 The problem with banks; 1:4 Plan of attack; 1:5 Method; 1:6 Analysis; 2. Community as centre of authority: Banks are squeezed between the necessities of business, power politics, and the afterlife; 2:1 Religion; 2:2 Finance; 2:3 Divine Law and usury; 2:4 Evolving practices -- tricks of the trade; 2:5 Three cases of bank failures in late Medieval Europe