ABSTRACT
This chapter uses the notions of property and trusts to explain the nature of shadow banking from the twentieth century to the present day. As examined, the legal concept of property was created in the image of money in the late Roman Republic. Since then, the division of property and contract has been an underlying structure of Western law. This chapter argues that shadow banking is a social institution by which financiers obtain the privilege of enjoying both contractual rights and property rights. Moreover, it argues that the financial crisis of 2008 occurred as a result of this privilege.
