Filippo L. Calciano is a professor of economics at the University of Rome 3 and director of the International Cooperation Department at the Luigi Sturzo Institute (ILS) in Rome. He has a professional and academic interest in corporate finance and financial economics, as well as academic interests in game theory and microeconomics. He holds a Ph.D. and a masters degree in Economics from the Centre for Operations Research and Econometrics (Louvain University) and the University of Pennsylvania. Franco Fiordelisi is Professor of Banking and Finance at the University of Rome III (Italy). He is the president of the Financial Intermediation Network of European Studies (FINEST) and affiliated faculty member at the SDA Bocconi, Milan. He was visiting research scholar at the Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, U.S. (in 2011, Fulbright Scholarship) and at the European Central Bank (in 2010). His work has been published in top finance journals such as the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Banking and Finance, the Journal of International Money and Finance. Giovanni Scarano is Professor of Economic Policy and President of the School of Economics and Business Studies at the Roma Tre University. His major academic interests today lie in monetary policy, business cycles and corporate finance, having concentrated his focus on natural resource and development issues over the past years.

• Introduction Filippo Luca Calciano - Franco Fiordelisi Giovanni Scarano PART I: RESTRUCTURING BANKS AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN THE EURO AREA Regulating Core and Non-Core Banking Activities. The Unanswered Question Giampaolo Gabbi - Andrea Sironi The Banking Regulatory Bubble and How to Get out of It Giovanni Ferri - Doris Neuberger Fifteen Years of Single Monetary Policy in the Euro Area: A Bird's Eye View, Effects on Italian Banks During the Crisis, and Lessons to Draw Vincenzo Chiorazzo - Pierluigi Morelli Learning on the Road towards the Banking Union Franco Bruni The Economic Impact of EU Competitiveness Programs on Italian SMEs Stefano Marzioni - Luciano Monti Alessandro Pandimiglio - Marco Spallone Regulatory Impacts from the Financial Crisis on German Banks Michaela Hönig Corporate Savings and the 2007-2009 Financial Crisis: A Warning for the European Giovanni Scarano PART II: NEW TOOLS FOR THE FINANCING OF SMES The European Central Bank and the Financing Conditions of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe Ansgar Belke - Florian Verheyen After the Credit Crunch: Long-Term Finance for Economic Growth Angelo S. Baglioni - Andrea Monticini - Giacomo Vaciago New Finance for Italian Firms. Issues of Mini-Bonds and SME Entering the Stock Exchange are the Most Promising Novelties Ciro Rapacciuolo