This research workshop is the twelfth in a series of quarterly workshops organized by the SP-SP Center. The aim of the workshops is to bring together not only researchers who are in the Barcelona area but also researchers outside Barcelona. For this edition we have selected papers dealing with different aspects of banking sector, e.g. the root causes of the current crisis and the role of domestic financial institutions in sustaining capital flows under some particular conditions, among other related issues.

The Public-Private Sector Research Center was created in October of 2001. Its mission is to foster cooperation between the private sector and public administrations, as well as the exchange of ideas and initiatives, through dialogue, research and education.

The Center is sponsored by the following organizations: Accenture, Ajuntament de Barcelona, Caixa Manresa, Cambra de Comerç de Barcelona, Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya, Departament d'Economia i Finances de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament d'Innovació, Universitats i Empresa de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Diputació de Barcelona, Endesa, Fundació AGBAR, Garrigues, Mediapro, Microsoft, Sanofi-Aventis, ATM, FGC and TMB.