The global financial crisis of 2008 has shown the great dangers of a pronounced imbalance in the financial system. The numerous regulatory components of the global financial system all aim to increase the stability and transparency of the system and thereby restore the confidence of market participants in credit institutions. The requirements lead to considerable challenges for the market participants: structures have to be changed, business models have to be revised, systems have to be checked for their functionality. Stable Banks in Challenging Times is a collection of speeches delivered by Andreas Dombret during his eight-year tenure as a board member of the Deutsche Bundesbank, the German central bank, and also, from 2014 onwards, his term on the Supervisory Board of the European Central Bank. He also represented Germany at the G7, the G20, the IMF, the FSB, the Basel Committee, the OECD and the BIS. As witness to the challenges created by the global financial crisis of 2008, Andreas Dombret helped to shape large parts of the new regulatory framework. He successfully monitored future developments such as digitalization, Brexit and climate change, and their effects on the risk situation in the global banking industry. His insights are an invaluable look at the inner workings of global financial regulation and policy. Financial system academics and researchers as well as professionals in banking, the financial sector, central banking and bank supervision will gain perspective from the author's observations as they pertain both to the past and our future. 'A significant contribution to financial regulatory policy making and bank management benchmarking in uncertain times. Andreas Dombret, intellectual and straightforward, yet realistic and practical. As a member of our global advisory committee and a very good friend of mine, Andreas always offers me a great deal of wisdom and I find every time from him a unique combination of resolute direction as a policy maker and the practical and reasonable sense of a private practitioner. You will certainly find a perfect balance among various interests, both public and private, from these essays. Very timely publication of Andreas' holistic views and profound insights during his Bundesbank days.' --Makoto Takashima, President and CEO, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Japan Andreas Dombret, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, New York, US