An accessible and balanced study of the disputed role of banks in financing British industry.

Michael Collins is a priest for the Archdiocese of Dublin, where he has served in a number of parishes. He has written or co-authored a number of books, including Benedict XVI: Successor to Peter, John Paul II: The Path to Sainthood, and The Story of Christianity. He recently edited The Illustrated Bible.

Acknowledgements; 1. The nature of the problem; 2. Explanatory schema; 3. Industrial finance before 1870; 4. Banks and industry, 1870-1914; 5. City vs industry, 1870-1914; 6. The interwar period; 7. Summary; Appendix; Notes; Bibliography; Index.