This volume contains a broad range of papers examining contemporary managerial and public policy issues in finance and banking. Special emphasis is given to financial institutions, instruments and markets. The volume includes papers examining prudential regulations and competition among banking institutions in different countries; the dynamics of stock returns along domestic and international dimensions; and the analysis of debt and equity issuance in the framework of the firm's financing decision. Other papers in the volume provide insight into such timely issues as the global integration of capital markets and the nature and impact of financial crisis at the household and economy-wide level.