
Global Financial Regulation
An Opinionated Guide
Howard Davies(Author)
Polity Press
1st Edition
Will be published approx. on 4. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-1-5095-6487-3 (ISBN)
Description
The Global Financial Crisis was a shock to the shadowy world of financial regulation. Since then, the system has been fundamentally overhauled, tightening up regulations that were far too lax and making financial institutions safer. But the system is now over-complex, and the US, in particular, is pushing back to set a new balance. Howard Davies, one of the world's leading experts on financial regulation, provides a clear and authoritative guide to this messy system, assesses what works and what doesn't, and lays out a programme of change for the next decade.
As Davies explains, regulation is never a finished product. Transformed after 2008, it has had to adapt further to tackle new issues, including cryptocurrencies, the blockchain revolution, climate change, and artificial intelligence. Davies describes how the different pieces of the new regulatory jigsaw fit together, using his years of work in finance and regulation to provide crucial insights into the motivations of lawmakers and market practitioners alike. The book concludes with a bold agenda to make the system more robust, cheaper and more effective.
As the appetite for regulation sours and geo-political crises produce sustained uncertainty, Global Financial Regulation is a clear-eyed look at the murky waters of international regulation. An incisive successor to Davies's much-praised guide from 2009, this book is essential reading for regulators, financial market practitioners and students of the global financial system.
As Davies explains, regulation is never a finished product. Transformed after 2008, it has had to adapt further to tackle new issues, including cryptocurrencies, the blockchain revolution, climate change, and artificial intelligence. Davies describes how the different pieces of the new regulatory jigsaw fit together, using his years of work in finance and regulation to provide crucial insights into the motivations of lawmakers and market practitioners alike. The book concludes with a bold agenda to make the system more robust, cheaper and more effective.
As the appetite for regulation sours and geo-political crises produce sustained uncertainty, Global Financial Regulation is a clear-eyed look at the murky waters of international regulation. An incisive successor to Davies's much-praised guide from 2009, this book is essential reading for regulators, financial market practitioners and students of the global financial system.
Reviews / Votes
"Howard Davies offers a systematic and accessible review of the architecture that emerged following the collapse of the Bretton Woods regime, effectively a 'non-system' of loosely connected international financial standard setters which are called to confront the systemic risks and the challenges of our times working with national regulators and central banks. The book will appeal both to the expert audience and to the general readership."Rosa Lastra, Sir John Lubbock Chair in Banking Law, Queen Mary University of London
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
ISBN-13
978-1-5095-6487-3 (9781509564873)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
approx. 09/2026
1st Edition
Polity Press
€68.50
Not yet published
Person
Howard Davies is a professor at Sciences Po Paris, where he teaches courses on Global Financial Regulation and Central Banks. He was the first Executive Chair of the UK's unified financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, after a period as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. He is a former Chair of NatWest bank and Chair of the Risk Committees of Morgan Stanley and Prudential Insurance. He now chairs Inigo insurance in London, and advises Millennium, a large New York hedge fund.
Content
Introduction
1. Legal Status
2. The Objectives of Financial Regulation
3. Systemic Oversight
4. Banking
5. Insurance Regulation
6. Securities, Markets and Asset Management
7. Cross-Cutting Issues
8. Europe: A Special Case
9. National Regulatory Structures
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Notes
Index
1. Legal Status
2. The Objectives of Financial Regulation
3. Systemic Oversight
4. Banking
5. Insurance Regulation
6. Securities, Markets and Asset Management
7. Cross-Cutting Issues
8. Europe: A Special Case
9. National Regulatory Structures
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Notes
Index