Prudence and Ambition

Name: Prudence and Ambition
Price: 32.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781922923066

How banks work and why their governance needs to change

Harrison Young, Luke Harris, Peter Vaughan-Reid

$32.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Ventura Press
26 May 2026

Economics & Business; Finance

Banks are a way of organising society. Their liabilities are money. They make wealth portable. They facilitate commerce. They do the work of markets where markets don't exist. No one much likes banks. We resent their power and wealth. They hold our mortgages and issue our credit cards. They know things about us. They can veto our plans. But we need them. Prosperity requires credit. The economy struggles if its banks are overcautious. When a bank fails, the public suffers.

But do we know enough about how they work?

In Prudence and Ambition, former director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Harrison Young looks back on his long career to explain how banks work and why the Western bank governance model is no longer fit for purpose.

Taking us through key moments of a career that spans over four decades and twenty countries, Harrison explores different banking systems, their failures and successes, and offers his vision of the change needed to build banks for the future.

If you're not a banker, this book offers fascinating insight into how the world of finance operates. If you are a banker, or aspire to be a banker, this book will make you pause and reflect. Essential reading for anyone participating in the global economy.

By: Harrison Young
Cover design or artwork by: Luke Harris
Edited by: Peter Vaughan-Reid
Imprint: Ventura Press
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 5,944mm, Width: 3,886mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 467g
ISBN: 9781922923066
ISBN 10: 1922923060
Pages: 244
Publication Date: 26 May 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

American born and Harvard educated Harrison Young has had a remarkable investment banking career spanning more than thirty years. Harrison’s career has seen him conduct business in twenty countries and he has advised twelve foreign governments. He was the CEO of China’s first international investment bank, has been a Director of Bank of England, MD of Morgan Stanley Asia, Chairman of Morgan Stanley Australia and since 2007, a Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Other than writing great fiction, Harrison collects Australian artwork & paintings, which are mostly representation rather than abstract, but has a wonderful collection. He is renowned for giving brilliant, exciting and animated dinner parties & barracks for Geelong. He also takes a great interest in how banking and financial systems work, globally.