Saturday, April 30, 2022

Commercial Real Estate or Business Lending: Which Is Better?

Me: Commercial Real Estate loans are the most profitable product in a community bank's arsenal and have been through various interest rate environments.


Bank Senior Lender: Not when you consider the whole relationship.


True, it is more likely that a traditional business borrower has a full relationship with their bank than a typical commercial real estate (CRE) borrower. In a world of limited resources, which should you dedicate resources to pursue? This was the conversation I had with a senior lender of a client at the Massachusetts Bankers' Association annual convention.

And after that conversation, I sat in my hotel room thinking about the right answer. Since I rely heavily on data, I poured through my firm's product profitability reports that aggregates the answers from all of our clients. What does a "full relationship" mean? I thought, business loan plus a business checking account. The much sought after "operating account." How do these products perform through different interest rate environments?  

The charts below show the pre-tax profits as a percent of the total product portfolio during different rate scenarios compared to the Fed Funds Rate.




So the answer, from a straight pre-tax profit perspective, is commercial real estate in more recent times and a rising rate environment. In the falling rate environment period between the third quarter of 2007 until the fourth quarter of 2008, when the Fed Funds Rate dropped from 5.25% to zero, you can see from the chart that business checking did quite well in the early quarters because of the lag effect of falling rates on the profitability of non-term deposits. Having a Fed Funds Rate of 5.25% bolsters deposit profitability, as the chart demonstrates. By the time the FF hit zero at the end of 2008, CRE was the last product standing. It would have been more profitable if not for the heavy loan loss provisioning as the economy teetered. Zero rates bolsters the value of loan products as funding costs decline.

But what of the relationship? Take a more normal rate scenario at the end of 2018, when FF stood at 2.50%. The math is in the tables below.


All data are from my firm's product profitability database.

CRE still wins. Why? Two reasons, in my opinion: average balance per account, and operating expense per account. Banking is mostly a spread business, and if you are generating the same spread through a $216,732 balance account versus a $589,949 average balance account, as they were in 2018, then the larger balance account wins. Especially if it takes a similar effort to originate and maintain the account.

In spite of these numbers, I agree with my client that the total relationship commercial loan and business checking customer is more valuable. Just not necessarily more profitable. And banks should determine their "why" and set about to change it.

In the above case, there are multiple levers to press. Lever one, increase the average balance of commercial loans to drive greater spread dollars. This could be through industry specialization, focusing on those that carry greater average balances or utilize their lines of credit with greater frequency. It could be through cost by automating decisioning for smaller loans or, for example, using AI to perform annual reviews or do them bi-annually for loans that meet certain criteria. 

Another consideration to improving the profitability of commercial loans is to perform a risk-based equity allocation. I understand this is financial alchemy, but most of our clients allocate more capital to the business loan because it has less reliable collateral. But commercial loans, if analyzed for total risk (not just credit risk), also are typically less risky for interest rate and liquidity risks. A bank that takes a complete view of the risk and therefore the equity needed to support each product type might determine that a commercial loan might require less capital than a CRE loan. 

Deposit profitability suffers in a zero rate environment because we are simply not generating enough spread to cover costs. But in a more normalized environment, such as 4Q18, it was profitable and profits were trending better. The pre-tax ROA might not look great. Because there is little credit risk to the product it requires little equity to account for interest rate, liquidity, and operational risk. This creates a stellar PT ROE, the best of the three products measured here.

So even though CRE remains the most profitable product to a community bank, it is not necessarily the most valuable. But we have work to do.


~ Jeff









Thursday, April 14, 2022

The Mother List of All Banking Books

Two hundred and forty three. That's the number of books in John Maxfield's banking book library. How do I know? He sent me his list.

First he had to download some obscure app that must read bindings. If you knew John, you can see him promenading down his bookshelf, phone in hand, camera at the ready. Why do it?

He was curating a library for a bank, of course. Doesn't your bank have a bank book library? Interesting idea. He didn't tell me the bank. 

Two hundred and forty three books. I bet he read them all. It oozes out of him in his writings and in his conversations. Don't take my word for it, follow him at his website, Maxfield On Banks. Or read him in Bank Director magazine. 

He sent me this list because I am appreciative to be on it. I published it with his permission. Because even if you're not curating your own library, his prescribed reading list is better than a five-star review. 


Books are in author last-name order. If you have difficulty reading I suggest zooming your browser. Because it's a library's worth of books!


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

James R. Adams

Adams, James R.

The Big Fix: Inside the S&L Scandal — How an Unholy Alliance of Politics and Money Destroyed America's Banking System

1990

Anat Admati

Admati, Anat

The Bankers' New Clothes: What's Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It

2014

Liaquat Ahamed

Ahamed, Liaquat

Lords of Finance: The Bankers Who Broke the World

2009

Frederick Lewis Allen

Allen, Frederick Lewis

The Big Change: America Transforms Itself, 1900-1950

1993

Frederick Lewis Allen

Allen, Frederick Lewis

Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s

2010

John Allison

Allison, John

The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why Pure Capitalism is the World Economy's Only Hope

2012

John Allison

Allison, John

The Leadership Crisis and the Free Market Cure: Why the Future of Business Depends on the Return to Life, Liberty…

2014

Philip Augar

Augar, Philip

The Bank That Lived a Little: Barclays in the Age of the Very Free Market

2019

Walter Bagehot

Bagehot, Walter

Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market

2020

Sheila Bair

Bair, Sheila

Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself

2012

Tamal Bandyopadhyay

Bandyopadhyay,  Tamal

HDFC Bank 2.0

2019

Mehrsa Baradaran

Baradaran, Mehrsa

The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth  Gap

2019

Neil Barofsky

Barofsky, Neil

Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street

2012

Patricia Beard

Beard, Patricia

Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley

2007

Ben S. Bernanke

Bernanke, Ben S.

Essays on the Great Depression

2004

Ben S. Bernanke

Bernanke, Ben S.

21st Century Monetary Policy: The Federal Reserve from the Great Inflation to COVID-19

2022

Ben S. Bernanke

Bernanke, Ben S.

Firefighting: The Financial Crisis and Its Lessons

2019

Ben S. Bernanke

Bernanke, Ben S.

The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath

2015

Peter L. Bernstein

Bernstein, Peter L.

A Primer on Money, Banking, and Gold

2008

Cordelia Frances Biddle

Biddle, Cordelia Frances

Biddle, Jackson, and a Nation in Turmoil: The Infamous Bank War

2021

Alan S. Blinder

Blinder, Alan S.

After the Music Stopped: The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead

2013

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve System: Its Purposes and Functions

2021

Vince Boberski

Boberski, Vince

Community Banking Strategies: Steady Growth, Safe Portfolio Management, and Lasting Client Relationships

2010

Nick Bodemer

Bodemer, Nick

Boxing the Space Needle: A History of the Seattle-First National Bank Building

2017

Anne Boden

Boden, Anne

Banking on It: How I Disrupted an Industry

2020

Howard  Bodenhorn

Bodenhorn, Howard

A History of Banking in Antebellum America: Financial Markets and Economic Development in an Era of Nation-Building

2000

Howard  Bodenhorn

Bodenhorn, Howard

State Banking in Early America: A New Economic History

2002

Felice A. Bonadio

Bonadio, Felice A.

A. P. Giannini: Banker of America

1994

Richard X. Bove

Bove, Richard X.

Guardians of Prosperity: Why America Needs Big Banks

2013

John F. Bovenzi

Bovenzi, John F.

Inside the FDIC: Thirty Years of Bank Failures, Bailouts, and Regulatory Battles

2015

Louis D. Brandeis

Brandeis, Louis D.

Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It

1914

John Brooks

Brooks, John

The Go-Go Years: The Drama and Crashing Finale of Wall Street's Bullish 60s

2014

Connie Bruck

Bruck, Connie

The Predators' Ball: The Inside Story of Drexel Burnham and the Rise of the Junk Bond Raiders

1989

Robert F. Bruner

Bruner, Robert F.

The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm

2009

Lowell L. Bryan

Bryan, Lowell L.

Bankrupt: Restoring the Health and Profitability of Our Banking System

1991

Lowell L. Bryan

Bryan, Lowell L.

Breaking Up the Bank: Rethinking an Industry Under Seige

1988



Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Anne Burns

Burns, Anne

Time Well Kept (Selections From the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives)

2011

Anna Robeson Brown Burr

Burr, Anna Robeson Brown

The Portrait of a Banker: James Stillman, 1850-1918

2012

Bryan Burrough

Burrough, Bryan

Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR  Nabisco

1990

Bryan Burrough

Burrough, Bryan

Vendetta: American Express and the Smearing of Edmond Safra

1992

Charles W. Calomiris

Calomiris, Charles W.

Fragile by Design: The Political Origins of Banking Crises and Scarce Credit

2014

Duncan Campbell-Smith

Campbell-Smith, Duncan

Crossing Continents: A History of Standard Chartered Bank

2021

Stephen Campbell

Campbell, Stephen

The Bank War and the Partisan Press: Newspapers, Financial Institutions, and the Post Office in Jacksonian America

2019

David Cannadine

Cannadine, David

Mellon: An American Life

2008

Edna Carew

Carew, Edna

Westpac: The Bank that Broke the Bank

1997

Simon Carswell

Carswell, Simon

Anglo Republic: Inside the Bank the Broke Ireland

2011

Dana Haight Cattani

Cattani, Dana Haight

A. P. Giannini: The Man with the Midas Touch

2009

Edward Chancellor

Chancellor, Edward

Devil Take the Hindmost: A History of Financial Speculation

2000

Dr. Robert J. Chandler

Chandler, Dr. Robert J.

Wells Fargo: Images of  America

2006

Chemical Corn Exchange Bank

Chemical Corn Exchange Bank

History of the Chemical Bank: 1823-1913

2018

Ron Chernow

Chernow, Ron

The Warburgs: The Twentieth-Century Odyssey of a Remarkable Jewish Family

2016

Ron Chernow

Chernow, Ron

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance

2010

Ron Chernow

Chernow, Ron

The Death of the Banker: The Decline and Fall of the Great Financial Dynasties and the Triumph of the Small Investor

1997

Bernard F. Clark

Clark, Bernard F.

Oil Capital: The History of American Oil, Wildcatters, Independents and Their Bankers

2016

Dwight L. Clarke

Clarke, Dwight L.

William Tecusch Sherman Gold Rush Banker

1969

Harold van B. Cleveland

Cleveland, Harold van B.

Citibank, 1812-1970

1985

 

C. R. "Rusty" Cloutier

 

Cloutier, C.R. "Rusty"

Big Bad Banks: How Greed and Ego Among the Big Shots in Banking and Government Created the Crisis that Wrecked Our Economy

 

2009

William  D. Cohan

Cohan, William D.

Money and Power: How Goldman Sachs Came to Rule the World

2011

William  D. Cohan

Cohan, William D.

House of Cards: A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street

2009

William  D. Cohan

Cohan, William D.

The Last Tycoons: The Secret History of Lazard Frères & Co.

2008

Richard P. Cooley

Cooley, Richard P.

Searching Through My Prayer List: A Memoir about Family, Career, and a Meaningful Retirement

2010

Gregory Corso

Corso, Gregory

The American Express

2015

Howard E. Covington

Covington, Howard E.

The Story of Nationsbank: Changing the Face of American Banking

1993

Patricia Crisafulli

Crisafulli, Patricia

The House of Dimon: How JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon Rose to the Top of the Financial World

2009

Julian Dana

Dana, Julian

A. P. Giannini: Giant in the West

1947

Raymond P. Davis

Davis, Raymond P.

Leading for Growth: How Umpqua Bank Got Cool and Created a Culture of Greatness

2007

Raymond P. Davis

Davis, Raymond P.

Leading Through Uncertainty: How Umpqua Bank Emerged from the Great Recession Bigger and Stronger than Ever

2013

Kathleen Day

Day, Kathleen

S&L Hell: The People and the Politics Behind the $1 Trillion Savings and Loan Scandal

1993

Denver National Bank

Denver National Bank

After Forty Years: Historical and Biographical Sketches of the Founders and Directors of the Denver National Bank

2013

Frances Dinkelspiel

Dinkelspiel, Frances

Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California

2010

Jack & Roy Dinsdale

Dinsdale, Jack & Roy

Letting the Fences Go: Recollections of Family, Youth and Business

2000


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Darrell Duffie

Duffie, Darrell

How Big Banks Fail and What to Do about It

2010

Nicholas Dungan

Dungan, Nicholas

Gallatin: America’s Swiss Founding Father

2010

Charles D. Ellis

Ellis, Charles D.

The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs

2008

David Enrich

Enrich, David

Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction

2020

Greg Farrell

Farrell, Greg

Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, the Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near-Collapse of Bank of America

2010

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

History of the Eighties: An Examination of the Banking Crises of the 1980s and Early 1990s (Volumes 1 & 2)

1997

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Crisis and Response: An FDIC History, 2008-2013

2017

Niall Ferguson

Ferguson, Niall

High Financier: The Lives and Time of Siegmund Warburg

2010

Niall Ferguson

Ferguson, Niall

The House of Rothschild: Volume 2

2000

Niall Ferguson

Ferguson, Niall

The House of Rothschild: Volume 1

1999

Niall Ferguson

Ferguson, Niall

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World

2008

 

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

 

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States

 

2011

 

Philip L. Fradkin

 

Fradkin, Philip L.

Stagecoach: Book One, Wells Fargo and the American West; Book Two, Wells Fargo and the Rise of the American Financial Services Industry

 

2002

Ian Fraser

Fraser, Ian

Shredded: Inside RBS — The Bank That Broke Britain

2021

James Freeman

Freeman, James

Borrowed Time: Two Centuries of Booms, Busts, and Bailouts at Citi

2018

Milton Friedman

Friedman, Milton

A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960

2008

John Kenneth Galbraith

Galbraith, John Kenneth

A Short History of Financial Euphoria

1994

John Kenneth Galbraith

Galbraith, John Kenneth

The Great Crash 1929

1988

Lothar Gall et. al

Gall, Lothar et. al

The Deutsche Bank, 1870-1995

1995

Shennette Garrett-Scott

Garrett-Scott, Shennette

Banking on Freedom: Black Women in U.S. Finance Before the New Deal

2019

Timothy F. Geithner

Geithner, Timothy F.

Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises

2014

Carter H. Golembe

Golembe, Carter H.

But I Never Made a Loan: My Career in Banking — The Early Years

2009

Gary B. Gorton

Gorton, Gary B.

The Maze of Banking: History, Theory, Crisis

2015

Gary B. Gorton

Gorton, Gary B.

Misunderstanding Financial Crises: Why We Don't See Them Coming

2012

James Grant

Grant, James

Money of the Mind: Borrowing and Lending in America from the Civil War to Michael Milken

1992

James Grant

Grant, James

The Forgotten Depression: 1921 — The Crash That Cured Itself

2014

James Grant

Grant, James

Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian

2019

Joseph M. Grant

Grant, Joseph M.

The Great Texas Banking Crash: An Insider's Account

1996

Howard Green

Green, Howard

Banking On America: How TD Bank Rose to the Top and Took on the U.S.A.

2013

Joshua R. Greenberg

Greenberg, Joshua R.

Bank Notes and Shinplasters: The Rage for Paper Money in the Early Republic

2020

Alan Greenspan

Greenspan, Alan

The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World

2007

William Greider

Greider, William

Secrets of the Temple: How the Federal Reserve Runs the Country

1989

G. Edward Griffin

Griffin, G. Edward

The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

2010

Kirsten Grind

Grind, Kirsten

The Lost Bank: The Story of Washington Mutual-The Biggest Bank Failure in American History

2012

Peter Z. Grossman

Grossman, Peter Z.

American Express: The Unofficial History of the People Who Built the Great Financial Empire

1987


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Ben Haller

Haller, Ben

A History of Banking in Nebraska, 1854-1990

1990

Bray Hammond

Hammond, Bray

Banks and Politics in America from the Revolution to the Civil War

1991

Gary Hector

Hector, Gary

Breaking the Bank: The Decline of Bankamerica

1988

Christopher Hibbert

Hibbert, Christopher

The House of Medici: Its Rise and Fall

1999

 

Luther H. Hodges Jr.

 

Hodges, Luther H.

Bank Notes: An Inside Look at the Launching of North Carolina's Banking Ascendancy and a Commentary on the Current New World of Banking

 

2016

J. T. W. Hubbard

Hubbard, J. T. W.

For Each the Strength of All: A History of Banking in New York State

1995

Philip G. Hubert

Hubert, Philip G.

The Merchants' National Bank of the City of New York: A History of Its First Century

2019

Edward  Hungerford

Hungerford,  Edward

Wells Fargo: Advancing the American Frontier

1949

Icon Group International

Icon Group International

Citibank: Webster's Timeline History, 1894 - 2007

2010

William M. Isaac

Isaac, William M.

Senseless Panic: How  Washington Failed America

2012

F. Cyril James

James, F. Cyril

The Growth of Chicago Banks: Volumes 1 & 2

1938

Marquis James

James, Marquis

Biography of a Bank: The Story of Bank of America N.T. & S.A.

1954

Simon Johnson

Johnson, Simon

13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown

2010

Moira Johnston

Johnston, Moira

Roller Coaster: The Bank of America and the Future of American Banking

1990

Billy M. Jones

Jones, Billy M.

The Chandlers of Kansas: A Banking Family

1983

Jesse H. Jones

Jones, Jesse H.

Fifty Billion Dollars: My Thirteen Years with the RFC, 1932-1945

1951

Matthew Josephson

Josephson,  Matthew

The Money Lords

1972

Paul Kahan

Kahan, Paul

The Bank War: Andrew Jackson, Nicholas Biddle, and the Fight for American Finance

2015

Zachary Karabell

Karabell, Zachary

Inside Money: Brown Brothers Harriman and the American Way of Power

2021

Kate Kelly

Kelly, Kate

Street Fighters: The Last 72 Hours of Bear Stearns, the Toughest Firm on Wall Street

2009

Daniel C. Kibbie

Kibbie, Daniel C.

Their Bank, Our Bank, the Quality Bank: A History of the First Interstate Bank of California

1982

Kerry Killinger

Killinger, Kerry

Nothing is Too Big to Fail: How the Last Financial Crisis Informs Today

2021

Charles P. Kindleberger

Kindleberger, Charles P.

The World in Depression, 1929–1939

2013

Charles P. Kindleberger

Kindleberger, Charles P.

Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial Crises

2005

John Jay Knox

Knox, John Jay

A History of Banking in the United States

2017

Timothy Koch

Koch, Timothy

Bank Management (8th ed.)

2014

John A. Kouwenhoven

Kouwenhoven, John A.

Partners in Banking: An Historical Portrait of a Great Private Bank, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., 1818-1968

1968

Niels Kroner

Kroner, Niels

A Blueprint for Better Banking: Svenska Handelsbanken and a proven model for post-crash banking

2009

David Kynaston

Kynaston, David

The Lion Wakes: A Modern History of HSBC

2015

Edward M. Lamont

Lamont, Edward M.

The Ambassador from Wall Street: The Story of Thomas W. Lamont, J.P. Morgan's Chief Executive

1993

Thomas W. Lamont

Lamont, Thomas W.

Henry P Davison: The Record of a Useful Life

2015

Hope Lampert

Lampert, Hope

Behind Closed Doors: Wheeling and Dealing in the Banking World

1986

Monica Langley

Langley, Monica

Tearing Down the Walls: How Sandy Weill Fought His Way to the Top of the Financial World . . . and Then Nearly Lost It All

2003

David Leinsdorf

Leinsdorf, David

Citibank: Ralph Nader's Study Group Report on First National City Bank

1971

Michael Lewis

Lewis, Michael

Liar's Poker

2010


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Michael Lewis

Lewis, Michael

Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World

2012

Michael Lewis

Lewis, Michael

The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine

2010

Sheridan A. Logan

Logan, Sheridan A.

George F. Baker and His Bank, 1840-1955: A Double Biography

1981

Roger Lowenstein

Lowenstein, Roger

America's Bank: The Epic Struggle to Create the Federal Reserve

2015

Roger Lowenstein

Lowenstein, Roger

Ways and Means: Lincoln and His Cabinet and the Financing of the Civil War

2022

Vicki A. Mack

Mack, Vicki A.

Frank A. Vanderlip: The Banker Who Changed America

2013

Charles Mackay

Mackay, Charles

Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds

1995

Maggie Mahar

Mahar, Maggie

Bull: A History of the Boom and Bust, 1982-2004

2004

Sebastian Mallaby

Mallaby, Sebastian

The Man Who Knew: The Life and Times of Alan Greenspan

2016

Steven G. Mandis

Mandis, Steven G.

What Happened to Goldman Sachs: An Insider's Story of Organizational Drift and Its Unintended Consequences

2013

Elliot Marple

Marple, Elliot

The National Bank of Commerce of Seattle, 1889-1969: Territorial to Worldwide Banking in Eighty Years

1972

Jeffrey Marsico

Marsico, Jeffrey

Squared Away: How Can Bankers Succeed as Economic First Responders

2021

Martin Mayer

Mayer, Martin

The Bankers: The Next Generation

1997

Martin Mayer

Mayer, Martin

The Greatest-Ever Bank Robbery: The Collapse of the Savings and Loan Industry

1990

Martin Mayer

Mayer, Martin

The Bankers

1974

James P McCollom

McCollom, James P

The Continental Affair: The rise and Fall of the Continental Illinois Bank

1987

John B. McCoy

McCoy, John B.

Here's the Deal: How the McCoys Built America's Most Admired Bank One Acquisition at a Time

2018

John B. McCoy

McCoy, John B.

Bottomline Banking: Meeting the Challenges for Survival & Success

1993

Thomas K. McCraw

McCraw, Thomas K.

The Founders and Finance: How Hamilton, Gallatin, and Other Immigrants Forged a New Economy

2012

Richard T McCulley

McCulley, Richard T

Banks and Politics During the Progressive Era

2014

Duff McDonald

McDonald, Duff

Last Man Standing: The Ascent of Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase

2010

Lawerence G. McDonald

McDonald, Lawrence G.

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers

2010

Bethany McLean

McLean, Bethany

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

2011

Perry Mehrling

Mehrling, Perry

The New Lombard Street: How the Fed Became the Dealer of Last Resort

2010

Members of the New York Press

Members of the New York Press

A Brief Popular Account of All the Financial Panics and Commercial Revulsions in the United States, 1690-1857

2018

Laurence H. Meyer

Meyer, Laurence H.

A Term at the Fed: An Insider's View

2004

John Moody

Moody, John

The Masters of Capital: A Chronicle of Wall Street

2012

George S. Moore

Moore, George S.

The Banker's Life

1987

Sharon Ann Murphy

Murphy, Sharon A.

Other People's Money: How Banking Worked in the Early American Republic

2017

Allen Nevins

Nevins, Allen

History of the Bank of New York and Trust Company, 1784-1934

2006

George A. Newbury

Newbury, George A.

A Story Of Men, A Frontier City, and A Bank: Manufacturers & Traders Trust Company, 1856-1956

2013

James O'Shea

O'Shea, James

The Daisy Chain: How Borrowed Billions Sank a Texas S&L

1991

Franklin Parker

Parker, Franklin

George Peabody, a Biography

1971

Henry M. Paulson

Paulson, Henry M.

On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System

2011

Stephen Pizzo

Pizzo, Stephen

Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans

1991

Werner Plumpe

Plumpe, Werner

Deutsche Bank: The Global Hausbank, 1870-2020

2020


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Nomi Prins

Prins, Nomi

All the Presidents' Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power

2015

Barry L Provorse

Provorse, Barry L

Banking on Independence: The First Century of Puget Sound Bancorp

1990

Binfords and Mort Publisher

Binfords and Mort Publisher

The United States National Bank of Portland, Oregon

2013

Fritz Redlich

Redlich, Fritz

The Molding of American Banking: Men and Ideas, 1781-1910

2012

Cary Reich

Reich, Cary

Financier, The Biography of Andre Meyer: A Story of Money, Power, and the Reshaping of American Business

1983

Carmen M. Reinhart

Reinhart, Carmen M.

This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly

2011

Robert V. Remini

Remini, Robert V.

Andrew Jackson and the Bank War

1967

Alasdair Roberts

Roberts, Alasdair

America's First Great Depression: Economic Crisis and Political Disorder after the Panic of 1837

2013

Michael A. Robinson

Robinson, Michael A.

Overdrawn: The Bailout of American Savings

1990

David Rockefeller

Rockefeller, David

Memoirs

2003

Felix G. Rohatyn

Rohatyn, Felix G.

Dealings: A Political and Financial Life

2010

Walter S. Ross

Ross, Walter S.

People's Banker: The Story of Arthur T. Roth and the Franklin National Bank

1987

E. Michael Rosser

Rosser, E. Michael

A History of Mortgage Banking in the West: Financing America's Dreams

2018

Benjamin Roth

Roth, Benjamin

The Great Depression: A Diary

2010

Rick Rothacker

Rothacker, Rick

Banktown: The Rise and Struggles of Charlotte's Big Banks

2010

Anthony Sampson

Sampson, Anthony

The Money Lenders: Bankers and a World in Turmoil

2013

Nicholas P. Sargen

Sargen, Nicholas P.

JPMorgan’s Fall and Revival: How the Wave of Consolidation Changed America’s Premier Bank

2020

Shelby Scates

Scates, Shelby

Firstbank: The Story of Seattle-First National Bank

1970

Brent Schondelmeyer

Schondelmeyer, Brent

Building a First Class Bank: The Story of United Missouri Bank

1986

Fred Schwed

Schwed, Fred

Where Are the Customers' Yachts?: Or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street

2006

William Seidman

Seidman, William

Full Faith and Credit: The Great S&L Debacle and Other Washington Sagas

1993

Robert J. Shiller

Shiller, Robert J.

Irrational Exuberance

2006

William  L. Silber

Silber, William L.

Volcker: The Triumph of Persistence

2012

Claude Singer

Singer, Claude

U.S. National Bank of Oregon and U. S. Bancorp 1891-1984

1984

Mark Singer

Singer, Mark

Funny Money

1985

George Richard Slade

Slade, George Richard

Banking in the Great Northern Territory: An Illustrated History

2005

Greg Smith

Smith, Greg

Why I Left Goldman Sachs: A Wall Street Story

2012

Robert H. Smith

Smith, Robert H.

Bye Bye Banks: The End of Community Banking as an Engine of Economic Growth

2010

Robert H. Smith

Smith, Robert H.

Dead Bank Walking: One Gutsy Bank's Struggle for Survival and the Merger that Changed Banking Forever

2010

Winthrop H. Smith Jr.

Smith, Winthrop H.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle: How Merrill Lynch Revolutionized the Financial World

2013

Robert Sobel

Sobel, Robert

Panic on Wall Street: A History of America's Financial Disasters

1999

 

Andrew Ross Sorkin

 

Sorkin, Andrew Ross

Too Big to Fail: The Inside Story of How Wall Street and Washington Fought to Save the Financial System — and Themselves

 

2009

Robert Spector

Spector, Robert

Banking Without Boundaries: A History of Security Pacific Bank Washington

1989

John Sperling

Sperling, John

GREAT DEPRESSIONS: 1837-1844, 1893-1896, 1929-1939

1966

Joan Edelman Spero

Spero, Joan Edelman

The Failure of the Franklin National Bank: Challenge to the International Banking System

1999


Author

Author 2

TITLE

YEAR*

Irvine H. Sprague

Sprague, Irvine H.

Bailout: An Insider's Account of Bank Failures and Rescues

1986

Agnes Wright Spring

Spring, Agnes Wright

The First National Bank of Denver: The Formative Years, 1860-1865

1960

Benn Steil

Steil, Benn

The Battle of Bretton Woods: John Maynard Keynes, Harry Dexter White, and the Making of a New World Order

2013

James B. Stewart

Stewart, James B.

Den of Thieves

1991

Walter Stewart

Stewart, Walter

Towers of Gold, Feet of Clay: The Canadian banks

1982

Joseph E. Stiglitz

Stiglitz, Joseph E.

The Roaring Nineties: A New History of the World's Most Prosperous Decade

2004

Amey Stone

Stone, Amey

King of Capital: Sandy Weill and the Making of Citigroup

2002

Jean Strouse

Strouse, Jean

Morgan: American Financier

1999

 

Gillian Tett

 

Tett, Gillian

Fool's Gold: The Inside Story of J.P. Morgan and How Wall St. Greed Corrupted Its Bold Dream and Created a Financial Catastrophe

 

2010

Tim Todd

Todd, Tim

Confidence Restored: The History of the Tenth District's Federal Reserve Bank

2008

Joseph B. Treaster

Treaster, Joseph B.

Paul Volcker: The Making of a Financial Legend

2005

John D. Turner

Turner, John D.

Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles

2020

Francesca Valente

Valente, Francesca

A. P. Giannini: The People's Banker

2018

Frank A. Vanderlip

Vanderlip, Frank A.

From Farm Boy To Financier

2017

Paul M. Warburg

Warburg, Paul M.

The Federal Reserve System and the Banks

2012

Bruce Wasserstein

Wasserstein, Bruce

Big Deal: 2000 And Beyond

2000

Joseph Wechsberg

Wechsberg, Joseph

The Merchant Bankers

2014

Sandy Weill

Weill, Sandy

The Real Deal: My Life in Business and Philanthropy

2006

Ben Ames Williams

Williams, Ben Ames

Bank of Boston 200: A history of New England's leading bank, 1784- 1984

1984

George Wilson

Wilson, George

Stephen Girard: The Life and Times of America's First  Tycoon

1996

John Donald Wilson

Wilson, John Donald

The Chase: The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., 1945-85

1986

Martin Wolf

Wolf, Martin

The Shifts and the Shocks: What We've Learned — and Have Still to Learn — from the Financial Crisis

2014

Arthur M. Woodford

Woodford, Arthur M.

Detroit and Its Banks: The Story of Detroit Bank & Trust

1974

Bob Woodward

Woodward, Bob

Maestro: Greenspan's Fed And The American Boom

2000

Robert Wright

Wright, Robert

Genealogy of American Finance

2015

Robert E. Wright

Wright, Robert E.

Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich

2006

Walter B. Wriston

Wriston, Walter B.

Risk & Other Four-Letter Words

1986

Ross Yockey

Yockey, Ross

McColl: The Man with America's Money

1999

Philip Ziegler

Ziegler, Philip

The Sixth Great Power: A History of One of the Greatest of All Banking Families, The House of Barings, 1762-1929

1988

Phillip L. Zweig

Zweig, Phillip L.

Wriston: Walter Wriston, Citibank, and the Rise and Fall of American Financial Supremacy

1996

Phillip L. Zweig

Zweig, Phillip L.

Belly Up: The Collapse of the Penn Square Bank

1986