This is the first history of international financial centres and of the major stake that they now represent in the global economy. Youssef Cassis, one of the world's leading financial historians, provides a fascinating comparative history of the most important centres that constitute the capitals of capital - New York, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore. The book explores the dynamics of the rise and decline of these great centres from the beginning of the industrial age up to the present, setting them throughout in their economic, political, social, and cultural context and drawing on concepts from financial economics in its analysis of events. This paperback edition has been fully updated to take account of the challenges posed by the financial collapse of 2007-8 and offers the longer term framework necessary to understand the ongoing economic crisis facing capitals of capital today.