The papers in this volume were presented in Budapest at the 20th Colloquium of the Societe Universitaire Europeenne de Recherches Financieres (SUERF), arranged in association with the Robert Triffin-Szirak Foundation. Each paper deals with a different aspect of the characteristics of and trends in corporate governance. The three main topics are: corporate governance of financial institutions; corporate governance as exerted by financial institutions; financial instutions as participants in the transfer of corporate governance. The structure of financial markets and institutions has a significant impact on the ways in which the power to manage corporate resources is allocated. The relative roles of different types of owners and the legal framework within which they operate are currently in a state of flux throughout Europe. Financial integration in the European Union, the transition to open market economies in Central and Eastern Europe and privatization, have a profound effect on the behaviour and influence of different enterprises. This collection of papers demonstrates the range of aspects of corporate governance in a world characterized by rapid technological, political and institutional change which is currently concerning researchers and practitioners. The authors come from a wide number of countries and disciplines, and include people from banks and corporations, public officials and academics, providing different perspectives on corporate governance, financial markets and global convergence in eastern and western Europe. Their contributions should be of considerable interest to academics in the fields of finance and banking, monetary economics and macro-economics, and also to professionals in banks, securities houses, corporate treasuries, pension funds, consultancies, law firms, central banks and regulatory bodies.