A Financial Times’ Book of the Year, 2015
An Economist Best Book of the Year, 2015
A Bloomberg Best Book of the Year, 2015
“Other People’s Money is not merely another broadside content to denounce finance’s dysfunction, but rather a masterly attempt to locate its various origins and connect them with analytical and theoretical rigor. Kay provides by way of context a panoptic overview of the history, evolution and structure of the financial system in the United States and Britain, one that is impressive in its ability to weave together a comprehensive range of material, from the mechanics of banking to the Gaussian copula, in elegant, jargon-free prose.” —New York Times Book Review
“Mr. Kay is a brilliant writer with an ability to explain the role in the 2007-08 financial crisis of such concepts as credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations and moral hazard… [He] is at his best in reminding us that the financial system is still fragile and in explaining that more regulation is not the answer… We can applaud his call for a cultural change that will enhance ethical standards and put the customer first.” —Wall Street Journal
“[Other People's Money] should be read by everyone concerned with preventing the next crisis...[Kay] skewers the pretensions of the finance sector and questions whether its high rewards reflect its true economic contribution. Barely a page goes by without an acute observation or pithy aphorism. ... Above all, the finance sector should be judged on the same basis as other industries; if an activity is unprofitable without taxpayer support, it should not occur. ‘Our willingness to accept uncritically the proposition that finance has a unique status has done much damage,’ the author wisely says. Let us hope those in authority will listen.” —The Economist