MARIO LA TORRE is currently Full Professor in Banking and Finance and Director of the MA course in Film Art Management at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy. His publications include Securitisation and Banks, Postbank in Italy and Mergers & Acquisitions in Banking. Recent articles concerning microfinance include Modern Microfinance: The Role of Banks and Ethical Finance and Microfinance.GIANFRANCO A. VENTO is a Post-doctoral Scholar in Microfinance at the University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy. He was previously an analyst in the Banking Supervision Department at The Bank of Italy, and was Visiting Professor at the University of Buenos Aires. His main research interest relates to the money market and microfinance. He has been published by leading Italian academic journals and has followed several microfinance projects in developing countries for an Italian NGO. He is the author of Interbank Market and Eurosystem (Giappichelli, 2005).

• List of Tables List of Boxes List of Figures Preface and Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors Introduction A New Conception of Microfinance Products and Services in Modern Microfinance The Main Features of Microcredit Sustainability and Outreach: The Goals of Microfinance Risk Management in Microfinance Monitoring Microfinance Processes Microfinance Performance The Role of Regulation The Road Ahead: A Platform for Microfinance