Book Description

We live in a world in which financial markets have become completely decoupled from the real economy… The world’s four largest banks now all reside in one China… Lines of code are considered more trustworthy than central banks… In this broad-ranging, deeply researched review of modern banking and financial systems, analysts David Buckham, Robyn Wilkinson and Christiaan Straeuli unpick in parallel the ongoing erosion of trust in capitalist free markets and Western democratic institutions, and the directly related, unprecedented growth of the Chinese banking system. The former is a decades-long tale of intermittent market manipulation, inadequately regulated hubris and outright criminality, which produced the Global Financial Crisis, the most devastating financial meltdown since the Great Depression. The latter, which in various ways mirrors the conditions that led to the Crisis, may well prove worse. In detailing the unheeded lessons of financial history, the authors reveal how the inconsistently managed tension between free markets and government regulation has led us from depression and regulation to deregulation and crisis. And with incursions into string theory, the mathematics of cryptocurrency and the intricacies of money supply, we discover what happens when an authoritarian command economy fills the moral and ideological vacuum left behind. In a post-Covid world – in which we are witnessing booming stock markets entirely disconnected from real-world economic hardship, and communist billionaires propagating just as global inequality skyrockets – public trust in the international banking system has never been lower. The End of Money is an unprecedented survey of a fraught and complex landscape that has never been more urgent.“A page-turner rich in data and steeped with evidence and insights that flow from a deep understanding of the history of financial markets. The End of Money is a must-read before you buy your next – or first – non-fungible token, Chinese banking stock or US government bond.” – Professor Adrian Saville, GIBS“A fascinating and enjoyable read, even though it is at times shocking to trace the roots of the collective loss of trust in banking. Interspersed with illuminating anecdotes from our recent financial history, The End of Money makes it clear that excessive debt and extreme money creation have eroded faith in the global financial system, perhaps best symbolised by the rise of cryptocurrencies.” – Michael Jordaan, Business Leader & Venture Capitalist