Disentangling the “shadow banking” metaphor

ABSTRACT. This article reviews the literature on “shadow banking”, recognizing the multiple meanings given to each of its component terms. Broadly, the expression refers to activities also performed by traditional banking (“banking”) but through different means (“shadow”). Examining the fifty most cited publications, this article identifies nine interpretations of the term “banking” and eleven of the term “shadow”, combined in twenty-one different ways, out of which three stand out: (i) maturity transformation with no public guarantee, (ii) non-bank maturity transformation and (iii) non-bank financial intermediation. Publications are often ambiguous and inconsistent in their interpretations due to challenges in analysing contemporaneous financial systems. 
JEL codes: G01, G20, G23, G28. 
Keywords: shadow banking, non-banks, systemic risk, regulatory arbitrage, financial innovation.