"Banking market integration in the Asia Pacific has greatly accelerated in recent years, in an environment of many other rapid advances in banking and finance. This has increased competition between domestic and foreign banks, and made the measurement of bank efficiency, competition, and...

This handbook provides an overview and analysis of state-of-the-art research in banking written by leading researchers in the field. It strikes a balance between abstract theory, empirical analysis, and practitioner and policy-related material.

This text explains how Islamic banking works and what it offers as an alternative model of financial intermediation. Important questions addressed include: Why Islamic banking started and where it is going? Who are the main players at present and whom it will attract in future? What are its...