The History of Banking II, 1844-1959

The period from the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844 to the Report of the Radcliffe Committee of the Workings of the Monetary System in 1959 is one of the most important in the history of the British and international economy. The role of banks and banking systems in facilitating and shaping the pattern of economic growth has been much explored in an attempt to understand differing levels of economic success in industrializing and mature economies. This is a collection of contributions to the understanding of this role. Some of these works are classic contributions by authors such as Richard Sayers, Walter Bagehot, John Maynard Keynes and Vera Smith, are supplemented by pamphlets, articles and papers, scholarly and polemical, written by those with a particular position to defend or view to publicise. The appropriate levels of liquidity in lending policies, the tension between banks' duty to depositors and their responsibility to foster economic growth, the extent of Central Bank involvement in regulation of the banking system and the economy, the impact of bank failure on the business environment, and the influence of the international economy on domestic banking stability, all generated fervent debate as the British economy first experienced rapid growth in the 19th century and was then overtaken by other nations exhibiting alternative institutional configurations. The introductory essay focuses on how these debates took shape in this period, what lessons have been learned and how they continue to be explored by academics and others.