The book provides a comprehensive analysis of the risk facing private banks individually, and as part of an integrated system, from the growth of international sovereign borrowing. The development of indebtedness in the 1970s and 1980s is explored with the structural changes in the pattern of global economic activity as well as the oil price increases at the centre of the account. With these fundamental changes, how appropriate is the provision of finance through international private banks? The risks involved, in maturity transformation and interbank activity are examined. Considerations of portfolio management are also assessed with reference to sovereign debt. The book also includes case studies of the growth of two major international banks between 1972 and 1981. In these, the rapid development of international lending is highlighted together with the major changes in the way this lending has been financed. Central here is the role of liability management permitting long term, large scale lending to be supported, in part by very short term funding. This analysis throws into relief the critical role of confidence in the major names and the pivotal role of interbank transactions.