Acknowledgments

First, and most important, we wish to thank the contributors to the handbook. We are delighted to have brought together such an outstanding set of research experts from academic and policy arenas across Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. These experts have shown a high level of commitment and perseverance to the project from beginning to end. Without their expertise, dedication, and efficiency in producing scholarly banking chapters, this handbook would never have been possible.

The production of this handbook has also relied heavily on the exceptional enthusiasm and commitment of Oxford University Press, most notably Adam Swallow, publisher for Economics and Finance, who was crucial in helping us kick-start the project. Oxford University Press delegates and a number of anonymous referees also played an important role in advising on the shape of the handbook. We would also like to especially thank and acknowledge the advice of Aimee Wright, who was always on hand to help and worked closely with us throughout the entire process. The team in New York also played a valuable role, and so we’d like to thank Michael De La Cruz and Lauren Konopko. The editors would particularly like to thank Elizabeth Stone, copy-editor, for doing an excellent job on the submitted manuscript. Carol Carnegie and Saipriya Kannan also played a crucial role toward the end of the project, and our proof reader, Denise Bannerman, provided invaluable service.

We would also like to acknowledge the support of our home institutions: the Moore School of Business at University of South Carolina, the Business School at Bangor University, and the Management School at University of St Andrews.

A number of individuals provided comments to us on the content and style on parts of the handbook, including Barbara Casu, Mark Flannery, Claudia Girardone, John Goddard, Dick Herring, Ed Kane, José Liñares-Zegarra, Donal McKillop, Joe Peek, and Larry White. A big thank you goes to them all.

Finally, we would like to thank our families and friends for their encouragement and patience over the last two years while we completed this handbook. Their support is much appreciated.