Part I. Setting the Stage: 1. Functions of the financial system; 2. Financial crises; 3. European financial integration: origins and history; 4. Monetary policy of the European Central Bank; Part II. Financial Markets: 5. European financial markets; 6. The economics of financial integration; 7. Financial infrastructures; 8. Financial innovation; Part III. Financial Institutions: 9. The role of institutional investors; 10. European banks; 11. European insurers and financial conglomerates; Part IV. Policies for the Financial Sector: 12. Financial regulation and supervision; 13. Financial stability; 14. European competition policy; Index.