The Moneychangers

The Moneychangers is one of the representative works of Canadian author Arthur Hailey, set in New York and centered on a family-run commercial bank. The bank's president falls gravely ill, and a succession struggle surfaces as two capable candidates each play their hand—one of them, through his shrewdness, cultivates ties with a multinational corporation and secures a huge loan for the bank. The board rejoices at the spectacular short-term profits, and the shape of the succession contest seems to clarify. Yet beneath the prosperous surface, credit risk, internal management loopholes, and human greed are quietly accumulating. The author spreads his narrative across every level of the bank, from the president, vice presidents, and department managers to tellers, vault custodians, and security guards, planting crises along each seemingly ordinary line of business. The novel is known for solid industry detail and dense narrative suspense—both a tightly paced business thriller and a mirror reflecting the operating logic and professional ethics of the financial industry. Hailey excels at creating tension within realism, translating professional banking operations into a story ordinary readers can follow. This edition is translated by three scholar-translators: Lu Gusun, Zhang Zengjian, and Zhai Xiangjun.