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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2008
The considerable renewal of interest in all aspects of financial history over recent years provided one motivation for this new venture. Yet, the foundations for our specialism, which draws from both History and the Social Sciences, especially economics, have been laid by many. Some would point to continuity in our interest from the publication in the 1930s of jubilee banking history volumes, such as those written for British institutions by Gregory, and by Crick and Wadsworth. Further scholarly momentum came from the studies in comparative banking history undertaken by researchers inspired and brought together by Rondo Cameron from the mid-1960s. Upon these footings and others, financial history has since ‘taken off’ to address an increasingly wider range of issues. This considerable broadening of the specialism, ironically, almost coincided with the decline and then the eventual demise in 1987 of the Revue Internationale d'Histoire de la Banque, founded in 1968. This is not the place to draw up a balance sheet of that journal, which has played a decisive role. Its demise, however, left a gap. Financial History Review aims not only to take up its cause, but also to widen the scope of publishing in the field – from banking to financial history – in order to offer the fullest possible support for continuing research.
2 One indication of the current position of the subject is the synthesis for Europe by Kindleberger, C. P., A Financial History of Western Europe (London, 1984)Google Scholar, while another, but with the same geographical limitations, is Bogaert, R., Kurgan van Hentenryk, G. and van der Wee, H. [sous la direction de H. van der Wee], La Banque en Occident (Antwerp, 1991).Google Scholar
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4 Cameron, R., Banking in the Early Stages of Industrialisation: A Study in Comparative Economic History (Oxford, 1967)Google Scholar; and idem (ed.), Banking and Economic Development: Some Lessons of History (New York, 1972).Google Scholar
5 Inspirational studies, which opened up the ground, include: Pressnell, L. S., Country Banking in the Industrial Revolution (Oxford, 1956)Google Scholar; Landes, D. S., Bankers and Pashas: International Finance and Economic Imperialism in Egypt (London, 1958)Google Scholar; Bouvier, J., Le Crédit Lyonnais de 1863 à 1882: les années de formation d'une banque de dépôts, 2 vols (Paris, 1961)Google Scholar; and Lévy-Leboyer, M., Les Banques européennes et l'industrialisation internationale dans la première moitié du XIXe siècle (Paris, 1964).Google Scholar
6 See Larsson, M., ‘Government subsidy or internal restructing? Swedish commercial banks during the crisis years of the 1920s’Google Scholar, and Sjöogren, H., ‘Swedish commercial banks: the distribution of their advances by economic sectors and geographical regions’, both in Cottrell, P. L., Lindgren, H. and Teichova, A. (eds), European Industry and Banking Between the Wars: A Review of Bank–Industry Relations (Leicester, 1992).Google Scholar
7 Chandler, A. D. Jr, Strategy and Structure (Cambridge, Mass., 1962)Google Scholar; The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business (Cambridge, Mass., 1977)Google Scholar; and Scale and Scope (Cambridge, Mass., 1990).Google Scholar
8 However, this is not to deny that such an approach, applying the work of, for instance, Gurley, J. G. and Shaw, E. S. (Money in a Theory of Finance, Washington, DC, 1960)Google Scholar, led to a greater understanding, as exemplified by that of Cameron and his associates. For a recent review of their contribution, see Pollard, S. and Ziegler, D., ‘Banking and industrialization: Rondo Cameron twenty years on’, in Cassis, Y. (ed.), Finance and Financiers in European History, 1880–1960 (Cambridge/Paris, 1992).Google Scholar
A recent change in the interest of business historians is indicated by a recent number of Business History, 33.3 (07 1991), edited by Jones, G., which was a special issue on Banks and Money: International and Comparative Finance in History.Google Scholar
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10 SirClapham, J. H., The Bank of England: A History, 2 vols (Cambridge, 1944).Google Scholar This was followed by Sayers' equally fine continuation, The Bank of England 1891–1944, 3 vols (Cambridge, 1976Google Scholar). The Bank has turned to ‘insiders’ for its most recent considerations of its continuing development; see most particularly Fforde, J., The Bank of England and Public Policy, 1941–1958 (Cambridge, 1992)Google Scholar, but also Hennessy, E., A Domestic History of the Bank of England 1930–1960 (Cambridge, 1992).CrossRefGoogle Scholar This has been complemented, but for the nineteenth century, by the recently published doctoral work of Ziegler, D.: Das Korsett der ‘Alten Dame’. Die Geschäftspolitik der Bank of England 1844–1913, Schriftenreihe des Institituts für bankhistorische Forschung e. V, 15 (Frankfurt-a.-M., 1990)Google Scholar; and, translated by Martin, E., Central Bank, Peripheral Industry: The Bank of England in the Provinces 1826–1913 (Leicester/London, 1990).Google Scholar
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15 Jones, G., The History of the British Bank of the Middle East, vol. I: Banking and Empire in Iran (Cambridge, 1986)Google Scholar; and vol. II: Banking and Oil (Cambridge, 1987).Google Scholar
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22 A Banking Centenary: Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas), 1836–1936 (London, 1936)Google Scholar – although predated by Amphlett, G. T., History of the Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd, 1862–1913 (Glasgow, 1914)Google Scholar; idem, A Bank in Battledress (London, 1948)Google Scholar; and Sir Crossley, J. and Blandford, J., The DCO Story (London, 1975)Google Scholar; while reference should also be made to Standard Bank, 1892–1967: Three Quarters of a Century of Banking in Rhodesia (Salisbury, 1967)Google Scholar and Henry, J. A., The First Hundred Years of the Standard Bank (London, 1963).Google Scholar
On other British ‘imperial’ banks in Africa, see Tyson, G., 100 Years of Banking in Asia and Africa (London, 1963)Google Scholar; and Fry, R., Bankers in West Africa (London, 1976).Google Scholar
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24 Bouvier, J., Le Crédit Lyonnais de 1863 à 1882Google Scholar; Gille, B., Histoire de la Maison Rothschild, 2 vols (Geneva, 1965, 1967)Google Scholar; Plessis, A., La Banque de France et ses deux cents actionnaires sous le Second Empire (Geneva, 1982)Google Scholar; Régents et Gouvemeurs de la Banque de France sous le Second Empire (Geneva, 1985)Google Scholar; and La Politique de la Banque de France sous le Second Empire (Geneva, 1985).Google Scholar
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26 An early exception, but of the jubilee kind, is Jöhr, W. A., Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, 1856–1956 (Zürich, 1956)Google Scholar, and there is also Bauer, H., Société de banque Suisse 1872–1972 (Basel, 1972).Google Scholar
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28 J. L. Garcia and G. Tortella have been commissioned to write a history of the Banco Hispano-Americano and the Banco Central, which merged in 1992 to form the Banco Central Hispano. A professionally written history will be part of the forthcoming jubilee of the Banca Commerciale Italiana.
29 März, E., Oesterreichische Industrie- und Bankpolitik in der Zeit Franz Josephs I. Am Beispiel der k.k. priv. Oesterreichischen Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe (Vienna, 1968)Google Scholar; idem, Oesterreichische Bankpolitik in der Zeit der grossen Wende 1913–1923 (Vienna, 1981)Google Scholar, trans. Kessler, C. as Austrian Banking and Financial Policy. Creditanstalt at a Turning Point, 1913–1923 (London, 1984).Google Scholarvan der Wee, H. and Verbeyt, M., Mensen maken Geschiedenis. De Kredietbank en de Economische Opgang van Vlaanderen 1935–1985 (Brussels, 1985)Google Scholar, with an abridged, French version: Les Homines font l'histoire: La Kredietbank et l'essor économiaue de la Flandre 1935–1985. Gasslander, O., Bank och industrellt genombrott, Stockholms Enskilda Bank kring sekelskiftet 1900, 2 vols (Stockholm, 1956, 1960)Google Scholar, translated as History of Stockholms Enskilda Bank to 1914; Olsson, U., Bank, familj och företagande. Stocksholms Enskilda Bank 1946–1971 (Stockholm, 1986)Google Scholar; Lindgren, H., Investmentbolag och bankfirma, Stockholms Eskilda bank 1924–45 (Stockholm, 1987)Google Scholar; and Lundström, R., Bank och utlandsaffärer (Stockholm, 1990)Google Scholar: see also Söderlund, E., Skandinaviska Banken. I det Svenska Bankvasendets Historia, 1864–1914 (Stockholm, 1964)Google Scholar; Thunberg, G., Uplandsbanken 1865–1965 (Uppsala, 1965)Google Scholar; Hildebrand, K.-G., I omvandligens tjänst. Svenska Handelsbanken 1871–1971 (Stockholm, 1971)Google Scholar; Söderlund, E., Skandinaviska Banken i del svenska banwäsendets historia 1914–39 (Uppsala, 1978)Google Scholar; and Ullenhag, K., Vägan mot fusionene. Uplandsbanken 1965–85 (Uppsala, 1990).Google Scholar
30 James, J. A., Money and Capital Markets in Postbellum America (Princeton, NJ, 1978)Google Scholar; Lamoreaux, N., Insider Lending: Banks, Personal Connections and Economic Development in Industrial New England 1789–1912 (Cambridge, 1994)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and see also Sylla, R., ‘The United States, 1863–1913’Google Scholar, in Cameron, (ed.), Banking and Economic DevelopmentGoogle Scholar; Carosso, V. P., The Morgans: Private International Bankers, 1854–1913 (Cambridge, Mass., 1987)Google Scholar; Van, H.Cleveland, B. and Huertas, T. F., Citibank 1812–1970 (Cambridge, Mass., 1985)Google Scholar;. Wilson, J. D., The Chase (Boston, Mass., 1986).Google Scholar
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34 Cameron's Report to the V International Congress of Economic History, ‘Banking and credit as factors in economic growth’ (Leningrad, 08 1970)Google Scholar, indicated that it was the first such meeting of the profession to have a session devoted specifically to banking and credit, but pointed to antecedents from the first (Stockholm) congress, then running on through the Aix-en-Provence (where Cameron contributed ‘Theoretical bases of a comparative study of the role of financial institutions in the early stages of industrialisation’), Munich and Bloomington meetings.
35 For one general example, see Pressnell, L. S. and Orbell, J., A Guide to the Historical Records of British Banking, Business Archives Council (Aldershot, 1985).Google Scholar For its part, the Banca Commerciale Italiana has begun to publish a series of guides to its archives, as with Collana Inventari, Serie I, I, Presidenza E Consiglio Di Amtninistrazione (1894–1934) (Milan, 1990)Google Scholar; Serie VI, III, Società Finanziaria Industrial Italiana (Sofindit) (Milan, 1991).Google Scholar Each annual volume of Financial History Review will contain an article discussing banking and financial archives.
36 Plessis, A., ‘Les banques, le crédit et l'économie’, in Lévy-Leboyer, M. and Casanova, J.-Cl. (eds), Entre l'état et le marché: l'économic française de 1880 à nos jours (Paris, 1991)Google Scholar, and the special issue of Entreprises et Histoire, 1.2 (1992) edited by Plessis, Alain.Google Scholar For a survey of the current position of research on the UK see Collins, M., British Banks and Industrial Finance before 1939 (London, 1990).Google Scholar
37 On the debate with respect to the part of the banks, see Neuberger, H. and Stokes, H. H., ‘German banks and German growth: an empirical view’, Journal of Economic History, 34 (1974)Google Scholar; Fremdling, R. and Tilly, R., ‘German banks, German growth and econometric history’, Journal of Economic History, 36 (1976)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Neuburger, H. M. and Stokes, H. H., ‘German banks and German growth: Reply’, Journal of Economic History, 36 (1976)Google Scholar; Komlos, J., ‘The Kreditbanken and German growth: a postscript’, Journal of Economic History, 38 (1978)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Tilly, R., ‘Mergers, external growth, and finance in the development of large-scale enterprise in Germany, 1880–1913’, Journal of Economic History, 42 (1982)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; idem, ‘German banking, 1850–1914: development assistance for the strong’, Journal of European Economic History, 15 (1986).Google Scholar Nearly all these contributions to the basic literature have recently been reprinted in Cameron, R. (ed.), Financing Industrialization, 2 vols (Aldershot, 1992)Google Scholar, which also contains relevant ‘revisionist’ material for other countries.
38 Lévy-Leboyer, M. and Lescure, M., ‘France’Google Scholar, in Sylla, R. and Toniolo, G. (eds), Patterns of European IndustrializationGoogle Scholar; Lescure, M., ‘Les banques et le financement des PME dans la France des années 1920’, Entreprises et Histoire, 1 (1992)Google Scholar; Ziegler, D., ‘The origins of the “Macmillan Gap”: Britain and Germany in the twentieth century’, paper presented to the International Workshop on Banks and Customers, London School of Economics (09, 1991)Google Scholar; and Thomes, P., ‘German savings banks as instruments of regional development up to World War Two’, paper presented to International Conference on Financial Institutions and Financial Markets in Twentieth Century Europe and North America, Zürich (05, 1993).Google Scholar
39 Some of the theoretical literature which is now shaping the approach of financial historians includes: Campbell, T. and Kracaw, W., ‘Information production, market signalling and the theory of financial intermediation’, Journal of Finance, 4 (1980)Google Scholar; Fried, J. and Howitt, P., ‘Credit rationing and implicit contract theory’, Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 12 (1980)Google Scholar; Stiglitz, E. and Weiss, A., ‘Credit rationing in markets with imperfect information’, American Economic Review, 71 (1981)Google Scholar; Bester, H., ‘Screening versus rationing in credit markets with imperfect information’, American Economic Review, 73 (1985)Google Scholar; Williamson, O. E., The Economic Institutions of Capitalism (New York, 1985)Google Scholar; Varian, H. R., ‘Differences of opinion in financial markets’, in Stone, C. C. (ed.), Financial Risk: Theory, Evidence and Implications (Boston, Mass., 1987).Google Scholar
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