How to avoid taxpayers paying for bank failures and banking crises? This book provides a proposal and a critique by twelve independent experts. It is addressed particularly to the threat posed in Europe by having large international banks, a history of bailouts and limited means of resolving any future banking crises. It shows how political imperatives and legal constraints currently result in economic losses in many countries round the world. THORSTEN BECK World Bank, Washington DC BETHANY BLOWERS Analyst in the Domestic Finance Division, Bank of England HENK BROUWER Executive Director of De Nederlandsche Bank PEIK GRANLUND Lawyer in the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority CHRISTOS HADJIEMMANUIL Senior Lecturer in Law, London School of Economics LIISA HALME Chief Legal Cousel, Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland GERBERT HEBBINK Senior Economist at the Financial Stability Department of De Nederlandsche Bank EVA HPKES Head of Regulation, Legal Department of the Swiss Federal Banking Commission EIGIL MLGAARD Legal and Financial Adviser, formerly Director General of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority JN SIGURSSON President and Chief Executive, Nordic Investment Bank GARY STERN President, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis SANDRA WESSELING Senior Economist,, Directorate Supervision of De Nederlandshe Bank GARY YOUNG Senior Research Manager, Domestic Finance Division, Bank of England