Rewritten from presentations at a September 1998 conference co- sponsored by the US Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and San Francisco, 18 articles were collected in volume 16 numbers two and three of the Journal. They explore the forces behind financial modernization; the implications it poses for corporate structure, market discipline, and financial regulation; how to price deposit insurance accurately to reflect the bank's risk taking; balancing private with public interests; and managing potentially conflicting public policy goals. They are not indexed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR