Do not panic - banks have always failed... - 經濟

這篇文章 很有意思 有興趣的人可以看看
最好是 1280年 跟現在想要比較 ...........
-------------------------------------------------------
Research by Dr Adrian R Bell, Professor Chris Brooks and Dr Tony Moore at the
University of Reading's ICMA Centre has established clear parallels between
the events of King Edward I's time in the late 13th century and today's
credit crunch.

Dr Adrian Bell, Senior Lecturer in the History of Finance at the ICMA Centre
at the University of Reading, said:" It is widely believed that the current
credit squeeze, leading to bank failures, is a modern phenomenon arising from
the interplay of a historically unique set of circumstances that could not
have been foreseen. However, events 700 years ago, starting in 1294, sound
very much like today's headlines. They included a sub-prime borrower,
liquidity disappearing, recriminations, the seizure of foreign owned assets
and runs on the bank."

In the 1280s, the Italian merchant societies, the forerunners of today's
investment banks, were awash with money as they managed large sums of
collected taxes for the Pope and the English king, as well as holding
deposits from wealthy individuals. However, in the early 1290s, the Pope
called in much of his money and the French king levied a huge tax on the
Italian merchants in France. The final straw was the unexpected outbreak of
war between England and France in 1294. Edward I, the then king of England,
called on his bankers to raise the money needed to fund his armies.
Unfortunately for the bank (the Ricciardi), their assets were tied up in
loans and trade.

In normal times, the Ricciardi would have sought to raise short-term loans
from their fellow merchants, but in 1294, like today, the interbank markets
were frozen. The resultant uncertainty, combined with the fear that Edward
(the medieval equivalent of a sub-prime borrower) would default on his debts,
meant that the merchant societies were unwilling to lend to each other.

The bankers' own comments are strikingly similar to those heard today: in
1294, the Ricciardi said that 'it seems that money has disappeared';
'everyone to whom we owed money ran to us and wanted to be paid'; 'where we
used to have credit and could borrow 100,000 and 200,000 livres tournois (￡
25,000-50,000) and even more, we are now reduced to such a point that if we
wanted 100 livres tournois (￡25) we could not find them.'

As a result, the Ricciardi were unable to provide Edward with the funds he
needed and his response was to seize all their assets in England, effectively
bankrupting the society. The Frescobaldi of Florence, Edward I's next
bankers, also came to regret taking him on as a client, claiming that their
existing customers had lost confidence in them as a direct result of their
relationship with him. Customers withdrew their cash deposits, perhaps
fearing that their entanglement with Edward had put their savings at risk,
precipitating a run on the bank. Edward, like the current British Government,
recognised the gravity of the situation and promised them ￡10,000 in
compensation to keep them solvent.

Dr Bell continued: "It should be noted that the medieval economy was much
less dependent on credit and banking than our modern economy. However, had
Edward I faced today's crisis, initially, he would probably have placed
senior executives under house arrest, most likely without trial, until the
Government could recover as much as possible from their assets and estates.
However, in his case he also subsequently realised that he would need new
sources of finance and so whatever the frustrations, he might also have
counselled some leniency. In the 13th century, banks were allowed to fail and
other banks also failed as a result. However, within a few years, other banks
had grown to take their place and the banking sector and the economy
recovered."

More information at www.icmacentre.ac.uk/medievalcredit


http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/news_and_events/news_2008:2009/
do_not_panic_-_banks_have_always_failed...

--