Tower of Basel

It’s no surprise that the world financial markets are shrouded in secrecy.  We don’t need a whistleblower to tell us that.  But in an age in which what happens in Greece or China or Singapore can have ripple effects in financial markets around the world, often in seconds, it is certainly important to understand where the worlds levers of financial power really are.

As Paul Krugman pointed out this weekend, they are no longer just in big banks, or big governments, but like so much of globalization, they rest in multinational organizations. Often far, far removed from the people they impact.

One such organization is Bank for International Settlements.  It meets every other month in Basel, Switzerland and it’s work is often hidden, while its impact is not.

Adam Lebore, in his new book Tower of Basel: The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World pulls back the curtain.

My conversation with Adam Lebore: