PART I: THE STOCKBROKERS -- Ch. 1: The Reign of JB Were & Son -- Ch. 2: Melbourne Challengers: Ian Potter and AC Goode -- Ch. 3: Sydney fields Major Players -- Ch. 4: Ord Minnett Competes with Melbourne -- Ch. 5: Bain & Company Levels the Playing Field -- Ch. 6: Specialist and Family Firms -- Ch. 7: Melbourne and sydney Stock Exchanges -- PART II: THE MERCHANT BANKS -- Ch. 8: Growth of the Merchant Banks -- Ch.9: Overseas Banks and Stockbrokers Dominate -- PART III: THE BANKS AND FINANCE COMPANIES -- Ch. 10: Trading with the Banks: Sydney -- Ch. 11: Trading with the Banks: Melbourne -- Ch. 12: New Banks and Finance Companies -- Ch. 13: Banking between the two cities -- PART IV: OTHER INFLUENTIAL PLAYERS -- Ch. 14: Fund Managers -- Ch. 15: Futures Trading in Sydney -- Ch. 16: State Governments and Power Politics -- Ch. 17: Regulators in the Finance Industry
Summary
Describes the intense commercial rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne over a period of some 150 years. While Sydney was established nearly half a century before Melbourne, the great wealth generated by the Victorian goldfields soon ensured that Melbourne held an unassailable position as the continent's leading and richest centre of commerce. The story of this contest for commercial supremacy is largely based on Jim Bain's own long experience in the Australian financial-services industry, and particularly his exposure to the competition and often fierce rivalry that existed between the leading Melbourne and Sydney-based banks, merchant banks, fund managers and stockbrokers. Bain focuses on the key roles played by several financial institutions and certain key personalities over many decades