Back to Basics in Banking Theory and Varieties of Finance Capitalism

This article argues for a back to basics approach in banking theory and broaden comparative and historical perspectives on bank change. Evidence across advanced economies suggests varieties of finance capitalism rather than convergence toward joint stock banks and capital markets through privatizations, liberalization and deregulation. A minimal definition of banks as deposit-taking and loan-making institutions suggests that the US experience remains, paradoxically, both paradigm and exceptional, and that Minskyian approaches both contribute to recent debates about finance and banking and may profit by expanding the scope of analysis to include bank-centered finance abroad