This book of essays is published jointly with the Centre for Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary and Westfield College, London and the Chartered Institute of Bankers. The essays represent edited versions of papers presented at the annual seminar of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies and the C.I.B. in late 1989. The theme of the seminar was “lender liability”, which is defined by Ross Cranston as “an elastic term, but is generally taken to cover situations in which lenders may be liable to borrowers, potential borrowers, the shareholders, directors, creditors and guarantors of borrowers and potential borrowers, and even to other lenders” (p. 1). The essays give a comparative perspective of this growing problem for lenders, with essays on the position in the United States, Western Europe and Australia and discussion of the position in Canada and New Zealand, as well as an examination of the position in English law. In fact it can be seen that English law is hanging behind in the increasing trend to impose more onerous duties on lending banks in their relationships with their borrowers. As ever, it is in the United States where “protection” of the borrower has been taken to the furthest extent. Commenting on deteriorating economic conditions for U.S. banks, American writers Norton and Baggett state in Chapter 9 (“American Lender Liability: Common Law, Statutes and Contorts”; p. 203): “The affrontery comes, however, not only from this deteriorating business environment, but from the rise of less pliant, more unco-operative, and more litigious borrowers (and their other creditors). Recent and proliferating multi-million dollar jury awards (although many, but not all, are beginning to be