  The field of Financial Networks is a paramount example of the novel
applications of Statistical Physics that have made possible by the present data
revolution. As the total value of the global financial market has vastly
outgrown the value of the real economy, financial institutions on this planet
have created a web of interactions whose size and topology calls for a
quantitative analysis by means of Complex Networks. Financial Networks are not
only a playground for the use of basic tools of statistical physics as ensemble
representation and entropy maximization; rather, their particular dynamics and
evolution triggered theoretical advancements as the definition of DebtRank to
measure the impact and diffusion of shocks in the whole systems. In this review
we present the state of the art in this field, starting from the different
definitions of financial networks (based either on loans, on assets ownership,
on contracts involving several parties -- such as credit default swaps, to
multiplex representation when firms are introduced in the game and a link with
real economy is drawn) and then discussing the various dynamics of financial
contagion as well as applications in financial network inference and
validation. We believe that this analysis is particularly timely since
financial stability as well as recent innovations in climate finance, once
properly analysed and understood in terms of complex network theory, can play a
pivotal role in the transformation of our society towards a more sustainable
world.
