"Boot and Thakor have done a wonderful job in putting together a collection of recent papers on financial intermediation. I particularly like their emphasis on current topics such as structured finance, bank consolidation, and Basel II regulation. A must read for anyone who wants to be informed about the current thinking in this evolving field." Luc Laeven, International Monetary Fund "Literally a tour de force with broad and deep coverage of the banking literature from a Finance perspective. A must-read for serious scholars and professionals that offers a clear and direct path to the cutting edge of current research in the field." Peter Rousseau, Vanderbilt University "Arnoud Boot and Anjan Thakor have gathered leading researchers working at the intersection of corporate finance and financial intermediation to review and synthesize the latest work in their fields. In addition to providing a concise overview of the state of the art in these important areas, the authors provide a critical assessment of the most promising avenues for future research. This text will likely prove to be an invaluable resource both for current researchers as well as new students of these disciplines." Peter M. DeMarzo, Stanford University "This book is an excellent collection of survey papers in the field of financial intermediation, written by leading researchers in the field. Given its broad coverage of topics and accessible style, it is highly recommended reading for students, teachers and professionals who want to refresh their knowledge of the literature, bring themselves to the frontier of the field, and explore open research questions." Thorsten Beck, The World Bank