Introduction Filippo Luca Calciano - Franco Fiordelisi Giovanni Scarano PART I: RESTRUCTURING BANKS AND FINANCIAL SYSTEMS IN THE EURO AREA Regulating Core and Non-Core Banking Activities. The Unanswered Question Giampaolo Gabbi - Andrea Sironi The Banking Regulatory Bubble and How to Get out of It Giovanni Ferri - Doris Neuberger Fifteen Years of Single Monetary Policy in the Euro Area: A Bird's Eye View, Effects on Italian Banks During the Crisis, and Lessons to Draw Vincenzo Chiorazzo - Pierluigi Morelli Learning on the Road towards the Banking Union Franco Bruni The Economic Impact of EU Competitiveness Programs on Italian SMEs Stefano Marzioni - Luciano Monti Alessandro Pandimiglio - Marco Spallone Regulatory Impacts from the Financial Crisis on German Banks Michaela Hönig Corporate Savings and the 2007-2009 Financial Crisis: A Warning for the European Giovanni Scarano PART II: NEW TOOLS FOR THE FINANCING OF SMES The European Central Bank and the Financing Conditions of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Europe Ansgar Belke - Florian Verheyen After the Credit Crunch: Long-Term Finance for Economic Growth Angelo S. Baglioni - Andrea Monticini - Giacomo Vaciago New Finance for Italian Firms. Issues of Mini-Bonds and SME Entering the Stock Exchange are the Most Promising Novelties Ciro Rapacciuolo