Are bankers good, bad or really ugly?

It's a leap year, so I thought I'd celebrate by releasing some new books through my brilliant publishers, Searching Finance.

There are two new books released today:

Are Bankers Good or Bad for Society?

and

The City of London: How it Developed into the World's Leading Financial Centre

Plus there's an update to a book published last year, so it's brand new and spanky looking:

The Extraordinary Madness of Banks and the Extreme Folly of Governments  

Here's a summary of the first two books:

Are Bankers Good or Bad for Society?

This short book argues that bankers are good for society if the constraints that regulate them direct bankers to behave for the good of society.  

It makes clear that banking keeps society civilised as, without such controls, we would have anarchy and war.  It argues that bankers historically have been constrained by religious shackles that, through the fear of God, made bankers behave appropriately.  It asks what bankers fear today and whether the moral compass and lessening of religious beliefs is one reason why bankers have been bad.  After all, the love of money is the root of all evil.  

It concludes that for bankers to be good for society, they have to have a fear of retribution and a strong moral compass.  This will happen as the American culture of casino capitalism is replaced by an Asian culture of community-based consensus combined with Islamic finance influences.

Published February 2012
ISBN: 978-1-907720-45-1

The City of London: How it Developed into the World's Leading Financial Centre

Its history can be traced from the arrival of the Romans through two millennia involving trading in stocks and gold, the funding of kings and wars, to the Big Bang and the current crisis – the City has always been a centre of international financial activity.

This fascinating history is based on Chris Skinner’s celebrated blog, which brings out the colour and the characters as well as providing sharp analysis of how the City works.

Published February 2012
ISBN: 978-1-907720-45-1

And if you want a full picture of all of our books, just go to Amazon or click here.