History of Finance and Financial Regulation

The Economist reviews the history of finance and financial regulation, arguing that

institutions that enhance people’s economic lives, such as central banks, deposit insurance and stock exchanges, are not the products of careful design in calm times, but are cobbled together at the bottom of financial cliffs. Often what starts out as a post-crisis sticking plaster becomes a permanent feature of the system. … The response to a crisis follows a familiar pattern. It starts with blame. New parts of the financial system are vilified: a new type of bank, investor or asset is identified as the culprit and is then banned or regulated out of existence. It ends by entrenching public backing for private markets: other parts of finance deemed essential are given more state support.

The Economist identifies five major events that shaped modern finance:

  • Hamilton’s bank bailout in 1792.
  • The creation of joint-stock banks in England after the “emerging markets” crisis of 1825.
  • The railroad crash of 1857, global panic and the Bank of England’s stricter requirements for discount houses to hold cash.
  • Financial fraud and low cash holdings, the 1907 panic, the National Monetary Commission’s demand for a lender of last resort and the 1913 Federal Reserve Act establishing the (third) central bank in the US.
  • Recession and financial meltdown in 1929, the bank holiday of 1933, publicly funded bank recapitalization, Glass-Steagall and the FDIC.