Catherine Schenk FRHS, AcSS is Professor of Economic and Social History at St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford. She gained her PhD at the London School of Economics and has held academic posts at University of Glasgow, Royal Holloway, University of London, Victoria University of Wellington and visiting positions at the International Monetary Fund, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Bank for International Settlements as well as the University of Hong Kong and Nankai University, China. She is Associate Fellow in international economics at Chatham House in London. She is the author of several books including Deutschebank: the global hausbank 1870-2020 (2020), International Economic Relations since 1945 (2011) and The Decline of Sterling: managing the retreat of an international currency (2010).
Her research focuses on the development of the international economy since 1945 with particular emphasis on the evolution of international banking and finance and the international monetary system. Her current ERC funded project is GloCoBank, Global Correspondent Banking 1870-2000. This 5-year project will explore the architecture of the international payments system across two periods of globalisation to assess how it was formed, how it reacted to external and internal shocks and the role of technology. Her other research focuses on the transitions between international currencies and proposals for reform of the international monetary system in the 1970s and 1980s and the development of international banking and financial regulation. Finally, she has a special interest in the history of China’s international economic relations through Hong Kong.
