Prudence and Ambition by Harrison Young

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.

Al Hamad, a boy from Beirut, is building a new life in Sydney, but can’t shake off his links to the Lebanese mafia.

His boyhood friend Michel controls a drug syndicate on the east coast and gives Al orders he can’t refuse.

About the Author: 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.

28 Apr 2026
 

Prudence and Ambition: How banks work and why their governance needs to change by Harrison Young ISBN 9781922923066