Presenting an explanation of the workings of the financial system of the United Kingdom, this text contains details of the main financial markets and institutions. It presents some key theoretical developments such as asymmetric information, the efficient markets hypothesis and the term structure of interest rates, thus providing an analytical framework to aid understanding of the institutional structure. Changes in the late 1990s in the UK financial system which are covered include: the new framework for prudential regulation of the financial system with the introduction of the super-regulator and the Financial Services Authority; the framework for the operation of monetary policy including an independant Bank of England and the gilt repo market; the electronic order book for trading FTSE 100 shares on the London Stock Exchange and developments in the banking sector.