'Understanding banks has never been more important - so this book could not be more timely.'

- Andy Haldane, Executive Director, Financial Stability, Bank of England

'Risk and return drive banks. Customers, investors, regulators and politicians need to know both. Does their return on capital exceed their cost of capital really? And 'how close to the wind are they sailing' to get there? Chen's ROIC achieves this clarity, and enables comparisons, in a way that more typical measures plainly miss. ROIC is a harder metric for bankers to game, so expect some objections to this.'

- Alan Hughes, former CEO First Direct, General Manager HSBC

'Whilst the macro focus in banking has rightly been around capital and liquidity; you should always look for organic growth in any successful business. Understanding how a bank's performance links to its valuation is a must for investors, regulators and bankers and this book shows you how.'

- Eric Leenders, Executive Director of Retail, British Bankers Association

Sandy Chen heads the financial services arm at Cenkos Securities, the City of London's leading independent securities firm. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of a startup bank (Walton & Co), and was a leading analyst at Panmure Gordon, Williams de Broe, and Credit Suisse First Boston. He is acknowledged as the banks analyst that first called the onset of the Great Financial Crisis in August 2007, as well as making several key analyst calls on UK banks since then (e.g. LIBOR). Besides television and radio interviews and print coverage, he has also advised institutional investors, financial institutions and the UK government on banking issues.