Until about twenty years ago, the consensus view on the cause of financial-system distress was fairly simple: a run on one bank could easily turn to a panic involving runs on all banks, destroying some and disrupting the financial system. Since then, however, a series of events such as emerging-market debt crises, bond-market meltdowns, and the Long-Term Capital Management episode has forced a rethinking of the risks facing financial institutions and the tools available to measure and manage these risks.
"The Risks of Financial Institutions" examines the various risks affecting...