The Restructuring of Banks and Financial Systems in the Euro Area and the Financing of Smes

The 2007-2009 financial crisis has had a worldwide impact on banks and financial systems. It has also brought about major changes in Europe's financial regulatory framework that could lead to financing problems for SMEs. The book collects some original contributions on these issues, dealing with the alternative proposals to separate banking activities, the ways out from the banking regulatory bubble, analysis of monetary policy in the Euro Area, the effects of the financial crisis on the European banks, the road map towards the European Banking Union and the risk it entails, the new financing conditions of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe, the credit crunch and long-term finance for economic growth, and, finally, the new kinds of financial instruments available to SMEs today.

Filippo L. Calciano is a professor of economics at the University of Rome 3 and director of the International Cooperation Department at the Luigi Sturzo Institute (ILS) in Rome. He has a professional and academic interest in corporate finance and financial economics, as well as academic interests in game theory and microeconomics. He holds a Ph.D. and a masters degree in Economics from the Centre for Operations Research and Econometrics (Louvain University) and the University of Pennsylvania.

Franco Fiordelisi is Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Rome III (Italy). He is the president of the Financial Intermediation Network of European Studies (FINEST) and affiliated faculty member at the SDA Bocconi, Milan. He was visiting research scholar at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, U.S. (in 2011, Fulbright Scholarship) and at the European Central Bank (in 2010). His work has been published in top finance journals such as the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of International Money and Finance.

Giovanni Scarano is Professor of Economic Policy and President of the School of Economics and Business Studies at the Roma Tre University. His major academic interests today lie in monetary policy, business cycles and corporate finance, having concentrated his focus on natural resource and development issues over the past years.