★ Globefin Directory

Who built the financial systems we use

A curated who's-who of the people, firms, regulators, and international institutions whose decisions shaped — and are still shaping — how global finance works. Built for orientation, not encyclopedic coverage. Each entry includes a short bio focused on why a finance student should know them, plus links to deeper sources.

37
Curated entries
14
People
10
Firms
8
Regulators
5
International orgs
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Four kinds of entries

Each category collects entries of one type — people, firms, regulators, or international institutions. Within each, entries are filterable by country, tag, and free-text search. Pick a category to dive in.

👤

People

14 entries

Economists, central bankers, investors, and policymakers whose ideas or actions shaped the modern financial system. Foundational figures (Smith, Keynes, Friedman) alongside recent practitioners (Buffett, Lagarde, Powell).

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🏛

Firms

10 entries

Banks, asset managers, exchanges, and notable failures. Every entry is either currently systemically significant or a foundational case study (Lehman, the original Wall Street firms).

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⚖️

Regulators

8 entries

National central banks and securities regulators. Understanding the structure of these institutions (Fed vs ECB vs BoE) explains a great deal about how their respective financial systems actually work in practice.

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🌐

International orgs

5 entries

The multilateral institutions — IMF, World Bank, BIS, FSB, OECD — that coordinate financial policy across borders, set standards, and publish the data on which comparative finance depends.

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Featured

Start with these essentials

Seventeen entries marked as "must know" for anyone working through an introductory finance curriculum. Recognize these names and you'll have the orientation to follow most contemporary financial-press coverage and academic discussion.

AS 🇬🇧
Adam Smith
Moral philosopher; founder of modern economics
person
1723–1790
JMK 🇬🇧
John Maynard Keynes
Economist; architect of postwar monetary order
person
1883–1946
MF 🇺🇸
Milton Friedman
Economist; founder of monetarism
person
1912–2006
FM 🇮🇹
Franco Modigliani
Economist; co-author of Modigliani-Miller
person
1918–2003
WB 🇺🇸
Warren Buffett
Investor; chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
person
1930–
PV 🇺🇸
Paul Volcker
Federal Reserve Chair, 1979–1987
person
1927–2019
CL 🇫🇷
Christine Lagarde
President of the European Central Bank
person
1956–
GS 🇺🇸
Goldman Sachs
Investment bank
firm
1869–
B 🇺🇸
BlackRock
Asset manager
firm
1988–
BP 🇫🇷
BNP Paribas
European universal bank
firm
2000–
LB 🇺🇸
Lehman Brothers
Defunct investment bank
firm
1850–2008
FRS 🇺🇸
Federal Reserve System
US central bank
regulator
1913–
ECB 🇪🇺
European Central Bank
Central bank for the euro area
regulator
1998–
SAE 🇺🇸
Securities and Exchange Commission
US securities regulator
regulator
1934–
IMF 🌐
International Monetary Fund
Multilateral lender; surveillance and policy advice
organization
1944–
WB 🌐
World Bank
Multilateral development lender
organization
1944–
BFI 🇨🇭
Bank for International Settlements
"The central bank for central banks"
organization
1930–