A man of his times, back in 1996, smoking Joe Stiglitz used to be an admirer of the Japanese banking system because of its long-range thinking and lending
Cooperative behaviour between firms and their banks was also evident in the operations of capital markets.
In Japan each firm had a long-standing relationship with a single bank, and that bank played a large role in the affairs of the firm.
Japanese banks, unlike American banks, are allowed to own shares in the firms to which they lend, and when their client firms are in trouble, they step in. (The fact that the bank owns shares in the firm means that there is a greater coincidence of interest than there would be if the bank were simply a creditor; see Stiglitz 1985.)
This pattern of active involvement between lenders and borrowers is seen in other countries of East Asia and was actively encouraged by governments.
That praise of the Japanese banking system in 1996 did not stop him criticising the Japanese Zombie banks in 2009. Shame, Stiglitz, shame.
Note: A zombie bank is a bank with an economic net worth of less than zero but continues to operate because its ability to repay its debts is shored up by implicit or explicit government credit support.
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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