We study how financial system architecture evolves through the development of banks and financial markets. The predominant existing view is that banks and markets compete, which often contradicts actual patterns of development. We show that banks and markets exhibit three forms of interaction:...

Introduction: the columbo approach: a bird's eye view of the book -- Act i: the purpose of banks : what banks do and why -- Money, guns and lawyers : the business of banking -- The origins of baking and the services banks provide : customers, investors and other stakeholders -- Out of sigh out...