History of the development of the banking system. History of the development of the Russian banking system Brief history of the development of the Russian banking system

In Russia, in the field of monetary circulation and banking, Byzantine law in this area and the exclusive state monopoly on money issue and banks were borrowed. This circumstance predetermined the features of the Russian banking system, as a system that is mainly state-owned. Until the 1860s, there were no private banks in Russia at all.

For comparison, in Great Britain the Bank of England was established in 1694 due to the need to regulate the activities of the already established system of private banks. And only in 1844 the monopoly of the Bank of England’s issuing activities was proclaimed, i.e. In Great Britain, banking, like any other business, grew from below.

The creation of the state loan bank in 1733 is considered to be the birthday of the Russian banking system.

The stages of development of the Russian banking system were the creation in 1786 of the “State Land Bank” (mortgage lending), in 1797 of the “Auxiliary Bank for the Nobility” (issuance of mortgage loans with bank notes with a forced exchange rate), in 1817 of the “State Commercial Bank "(deposits, loans, fat settlements).

Commercial banks were created in Russia during the era of the Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II.

In 1860, the State Bank of Russia was created on the basis of the state commercial bank, and an intensive process of creating commercial and public banks immediately began.

In 1864--1873 About 40 commercial banks were created, the largest of which was the Volzhsko-Kama Commercial Bank at that time.

By 1914, the following two-tier banking system had formed in Russia:

• 1. State Bank and several specialized state banks (Commission for the Repayment of State Debts, State Savings Banks (1834), State Noble Land Bank (1885), Peasant Land Bank (1881).
• 2. Public city and land banks and private banks. The second level of banks consisted, as we see, of two sublevels. In total, at this time there were 600 credit institutions and 1,800 bank branches. Public and private banks included 50 joint-stock commercial banks, 300 city credit societies and city public banks, zemstvo banks, mutual land loan societies, 80 mutual short-term credit societies, 15,450 savings and loan partnerships, 16,000 credit partnerships, rural, volost and stanitsa banks and cash desks, 11 credit unions, which included 558 partnerships and 4,724 public peasant institutions of small credit.

State specialized banks took an active and direct part in carrying out the “Stolypin reforms”.

After the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, private and public banks were nationalized, and the activities of foreign banks were prohibited in 1918.

With the transition to the NEP, commercial lending was temporarily restored. By 1926, the number of commercial banks had grown to 61, and the State Bank's share of loans decreased from 66% to 48%. But already in 1927, commercial banks came under the control of the State Bank and were actually liquidated as independent credit institutions.

In the USSR, until 1987, the banking system included the State Bank of the USSR, Stroybank of the USSR and Vneshtorgbank.

The State Bank of the USSR served as the issuing center, the main credit institution, settlement and cash institution of the country.

Stroybank serviced capital construction.

Vneshtorgbank served foreign trade.

The division of banks into the Central Bank and business state banks occurred in 1987. Five sectoral state banks were created: Promstroibank (lending to industry, transport, communications), Agroprombank (agriculture and processing), Zhilsotsbank (housing and social sphere), Sberbank (deposits population), Vnesheconombank (foreign economic activities).

The creation of commercial banks began in Russia in 1988 after the release of the Law “On Cooperation”.

The spontaneous growth in the number of cooperative banks turned out to be an avalanche. By the end of 1991, the number of banks was 1,357. Essentially, these were not banks in the generally accepted concept, but instruments for pumping budget funds to individuals.

By 2002, the banking system had overcome the consequences of the default and restored its level. At the end of 2001, according to the Development Center, the total assets of the Russian banking system reached 140% in real terms of the pre-crisis level, and capital 120%. Net income for 2001 amounted to $2.2 billion and also exceeded pre-crisis levels. Moreover, the main source of bank income in 2001 was loans to the real sector of the economy. The share of loans to the non-financial sector of the economy in the assets of the banking system amounted to 42% at the end of the year (an increase of 43% in 2001). Thus, the banking system began to fulfill its main function of lending to the economy.

Macroeconomic indicators of the banking sector of the Russian Federation in 2001-2005. are shown in Table 68. The assets of the banking sector have increased approximately threefold since 2001; in 2005, they amounted to $350 billion. The equity capital of the banking sector also increased approximately threefold and reached $44.4 billion in 2005. The share of loans increased significantly in assets up to 55.9% compared to 41.9% in 2001. The volume of lending to the real sector of the economy, including the population, also increased 4 times. The banking system is increasingly fulfilling its functions as a source of financing for the economy.

Macroeconomic indicators of the banking sector of the Russian Federation in 2001-2005.

Loans to non-financial organizations in 2005 increased by 30.5% (2004 by 39%) and amounted to 4110.6 billion rubles. as of 01/01/06. Short-term loans up to 1 year amounted to 43.5%.

Lending to individuals has become a serious competitor to lending to legal entities. Over the year, the volume of consumer loans increased 1.9 times from 616.05 billion rubles. as of January 1, 2005 to 1174.9 billion rubles. as of 01/01/06.

The second most important active operation of banks and source of income is the acquisition of securities, about 16% of assets in 2005.

The population's confidence in the banking system was restored after the default. Deposits from individuals increased approximately fourfold during this period and amounted to about 30% of the sector's liabilities. Sberbank's share in the deposit market is steadily decreasing - from 60% in 2004 to 54.4% in 2005. The population is increasingly participating in financing the economy through the banking system. It places about 20% of its income in banks (savings). Deposits from the population almost equaled the total deposits of legal entities.

The growth trend in the financial results of commercial banks has become stable. In 2004, the profit of the banking sector, according to the Bank of Russia, amounted to 177.9 billion rubles, for 2003 and 2002. -- 128.4 billion rubles. and 93 billion rubles, respectively. In 2005, profit growth was the highest in three years and amounted to 47.3% (2004 38.6%). The profit of the banking sector in 2005 amounted to 262.1 billion rubles. Taking into account the financial results of previous years, 304.5 billion rubles. (data from the Bank of Russia). The share of profitable banks increased to 98.9%. Losses mainly fell on one crisis bank (95% of all losses). Return on equity increased over the year from 20.3% to 24.2%, and return on assets from 2.9% to 3.2%. Thus, the banking sector of the economy is one of the most profitable and rapidly growing sectors of the economy in the Russian Federation.

The net current income of credit institutions amounted to 665 billion rubles. and grew by 42.4% compared to the previous year. The main contribution to net income was made by net interest income (63% versus 62.3% in 2004), but its share increased slightly due to a decrease in interest rates on household deposits. In second place is the share of net commission income (23.2% versus 22.6%). Net income from transactions of purchase and sale of securities is in third place in terms of contribution to total net income. Their share is 12.4% (was 12.5% ​​in 2004). The share of credit institutions in operations with foreign currency in 2005 was 5.1% (was 4.9%).

According to the Central Bank, the share of stable credit institutions in 2005 was 99.6%.

Russia's banking capital remains largely concentrated in Moscow and the Moscow region. Of the 200 largest banks, about 70% are registered in Moscow and the Moscow region.

The goals and conditions for the development of the banking sector are defined in the “Strategy for the development of the banking sector of the Russian Federation for the period until 2008”, adopted jointly by the Bank of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation on April 5, 2005.

As of the beginning of 2005, the ratio of banking sector assets to GDP was 42.5% (versus 32.3% as of January 1, 2001), capital 5.6% (versus 3.9%), loans provided to non-financial enterprises and organizations - 19.5% (versus 11.0%), which is still significantly lower than in developed countries of the world.

The banking sector of the Russian Federation still has low investment attractiveness at the international level. This is evidenced by the declining share of foreign capital. In the period from January 1, 2000 to January 1, 2005, the share of non-residents in the total authorized capital of operating credit institutions of the Russian Federation decreased from 10.7% to 6.2%. The Bank of Russia has adopted a number of decisions and measures aimed at the influx of foreign capital into the banking sector and the elimination of bureaucratic obstacles on its way. And these measures led to an increase in the influx of foreign capital into the banking sector already in 2005. It is envisaged to generally simplify the procedure for forming capital of credit institutions at the expense of non-residents and bring it as close as possible to the procedure for forming capital of credit institutions by residents. In order to facilitate the admission of non-residents to the capital of the banking sector, it is planned to make changes to the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The banking sector in Russia remains relatively small. The total capital of the entire banking system is small and less than the capital of one large Western bank. The costs of doing banking business are high. The tasks of developing competition in the banking services market, increasing the transparency of bankruptcy procedures and bank liquidation have not yet been solved.

The main goal of the development of the banking sector for the medium term in the Strategy is to increase the stability of the banking system and the efficiency of the banking sector.

The Strategy of the Central Bank and the Government of the Russian Federation determined the basic objectives for the development of the banking sector:

• - strengthening the protection of the interests of depositors and other creditors of banks;
• - increasing the efficiency of activities carried out by the banking sector to accumulate funds of the population and organizations and their transformation into loans and investments;
• - increasing the competitiveness of Russian credit institutions;
• - preventing the use of credit institutions to carry out unfair commercial activities and for illegal purposes;
• - developing a competitive environment and ensuring transparency in the activities of credit institutions;
• - strengthening confidence in the Russian banking sector on the part of investors, creditors and depositors.

The Strategy predicts that the following aggregate quantitative indicators of the Russian banking system will be achieved:

• - assets/GDP -- 56-60%;
• - capital/GDP -- 7-8%;
• - loans to non-financial organizations/GDP 26-28% of GDP.

The activities of credit institutions are increasingly focused on the needs of the real economy. There continues to be a steady growth trend in credit investments. Competition is intensifying in the banking services market, including for individual deposits. As a result, Sberbank's share in the deposits attracted by the banking sector from individuals tends to decline.

The history of the formation and development of the Russian banking system can be briefly presented as follows:

The first attempt to create an institution similar to a bank in Russia was made in 1665 in Pskov by governor Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin.

The predecessor of banks in Russia was the Coinage Office, founded in 1773 in St. Petersburg and designed and intended to issue loans secured by gold and silver with payment of 8% per annum.

The first state-owned banks were founded by Elizaveta Petrovna on the basis of projects by Count P.I. Shuvalova. These were the St. Petersburg and Moscow State Banks for the nobility, the Bank for Correction at the St. Petersburg Port of Commerce and Merchants, the Copper Bank, and the Artillery Bank. The first issuing banks can be called the St. Petersburg and Moscow assignation banks, established by Catherine II in 1769.

By the time of the revolution of 1917, Russia had a developed two-tier banking system. However, as a result of nationalization, the share capitals of private banks were confiscated and became state property, which in turn led to the formation of a state monopoly on banking. Subsequently, the former private banks and the State Bank of Russia merged into a single State Bank of the RSFSR, mortgage banks and credit institutions serving the middle and petty urban bourgeoisie were liquidated, and, ultimately, transactions with securities were prohibited.

The USSR developed a banking system consisting of three banks (State Bank, Construction Bank, Bank for Foreign Trade) and a savings bank system subordinate to the country's central bank.

At the stage of restructuring economic relations in the USSR, an attempt was made to create a new type of banking system. As a result, in July 1987, the State Bank of the USSR and 5 specialized banks existed in the country: Vnesheconombank of the USSR, Promstroibank of the USSR, Agroprombank of the USSR, Zhilsotsbank of the USSR and Savings Bank of the USSR. The formation of the first commercial banks began, and by the end of 1990, in addition to specialized banks, there were already 1,357 banks in the country.

The formation and development of the banking system of the Russian Federation can be divided into three stages:

Stage 1 - emergence, which was characterized by the almost uncontrolled creation of commercial banks, it lasted until 1991;

Stage 2 - formation - from 1991 and ending with the 1998 crisis. Characteristic is the formation of a market two-tier banking system, a regulatory and legal complex, a system of banking regulation and supervision;

Stage 3 - post-crisis recovery and further development.

Currently, the Russian banking system includes the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, credit organizations, as well as branches and representative offices of foreign banks on its territory. The organization of the banking system and legal regulation of banking activities are carried out in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the laws “On the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia)”, “On Banks and Banking Activities” and other federal laws and regulations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

REVIEW | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CONTENTS 1 Introduction 4 2 The first banks 7 3 Usury 10 4 From a bill of exchange to a bank note 15 4.1 The Venetian bank 17 4.2 The Venetian Giro bank 17 4.3 The Genoese bank of St. George 18 4.4 The development of banks in other European countries 18 4.5 The role of J. Law in the development of banks 21 5 The largest bankers of the Middle Ages 24 6 Conclusion 25 7 References 26 Introduction Banks are an amazing invention of mankind. Their history goes back centuries, and their field of activity knows neither geographical nor national boundaries. Without banks, a modern monetary economy is unthinkable. There is no alternative to them in the future, since they are the main and connecting link of all economic life. A state that ignores banking activities and the economic importance of the bank is doomed. K. Marx wrote that the banking system, in its formal organization and centralization, “...represents the most skillful and perfect creation to which the capitalist mode of production generally leads.” Many books have been written about banks and banking activities, however, economists continue to debate both the time of the emergence of banks and the understanding of their specific role in the economy of various historical formations, in particular during the transition to a market. Doctor of Economic Sciences O. Lavrushin, for example, writes that “the current ideas about the nature of the emergence of banks diverge not by 1-2 decades, but cover almost 2 thousand years. This means that the essence of the question about the first banks is not so much in determining some kind of historical dates used for various parties, although for economic science this is also not a formal question, how much in determining what is considered a bank..." However, historians are increasingly confident that the first banks arose long before the manufacturing stage of capitalism, during the formation of the state at the stage of fairly active development of commodity exchange, monetary and credit relations. The latter, as is known, already existed in a slave society. In Ancient Rome, the primary norms of banking and credit law were recorded. According to these norms, as researchers note, in the 3rd century BC, Roman banks that specialized in money change were called numularia, and they were already allowed to conduct credit operations. Tenants who specialized in credit operations were able to widely provide loans to their clients on the basis of intermediation in payments. The first banks had a wide range of functions and served not only consumer needs. The list of their credit transactions was considerable. In Babylon, for example, banks provided loans, bought and sold plots of land, and performed a number of other transactions, even supplying slaves to brothels, as Evelyn Klengel Brandt reports in her book “Journey to Ancient Babylon.” The bank is an independent, independent commercial enterprise. This is what researchers see as its essence. However, the activities of a modern bank (banking institution) are so multifaceted that they often become uncertain. Currently, banks, naturally, carry out their traditional tasks, organizing money circulation and credit relations. However, now their functions also include financing the national economy, insurance operations, purchase and sale of securities, and in some cases intermediary transactions, investment operations, and the acquisition of guarantee obligations. In addition, credit institutions provide consulting, participate in discussions of national economic programs, maintain statistics, and have subsidiary enterprises. Studying the centuries-old history of banking not only shows the ways of development and establishment of the bank institution in the economic systems of different countries, but also outlines the prospects for its future development. The first banks Historians have proven that as early as 2300 BC, the Chaldeans not only carried out active trade, but also had trading companies that, along with performing their direct functions, also issued loans, that is, they performed one of the tasks inherent in banks even in our modern understanding. However, according to researchers, separate “credit operations” arose later: they date back to the 6th century BC. The word "bank" comes from the Italian "banco", meaning "table". Such tables - banco - were installed in crowded, noisy squares, where there was a lively trade in goods. In Ancient Rome, especially during the imperial period, a marketplace was a spacious square (usually part of a complex complex - a forum, or the main city square), specially designed for the market and at the same time being the center of the political life of the city. Trade used a variety of coins, which were minted by states, cities, and even individuals - there was no uniform monetary system. Coins of various shapes and denominations were in circulation, often below the nominal price indicated on them. In this endless monetary variety, naturally, specialists were required who would understand the variety of circulating coins, could evaluate them, or at least give practical advice on their exchange. These were the money changers. They were usually located with their own special tables in the market square, where trade took place. According to historians, the concept of a bank, fixed in the minds of people, was identified with money changers and their special tables in Ancient Greece, where bankers were called trapezidas (from the Greek trapeza - table). The first banks, as many authors note, arose on the basis of money changers - the exchange of money from different cities and countries. At the same time, a number of authors emphasize that this kind of identification of the nature of the bank with currency exchange operations veils the true origin of the first credit institutions and cannot form the basis of our ideas about its essence. They insist that the exchange transaction itself is a reflection of commodity exchange; it lacks the credit basis that would determine the main direction of the activities of banks of a later period. Some economists argue that a literal interpretation of the bank leads to the conclusion that its origins should be attributed only to the period of economic development when money began to perform the function of world money. However, it is known that the safekeeping operation, which focuses on internal circulation, is more ancient and it is this operation that brings us closer to understanding the essence of credit institutions. Already in those distant times, along with the credit operations of ancient banks, settlements for servicing depositors gradually developed. They were made using the so-called “transferit”, that is, the transfer of funds from one table (account) to another. Each depositor in an ancient bank had his own personal document - a table indicating his name. If the depositor deposited his free money with the bank, then he no longer needed to pay personally in one case or another; all payments were made for him by an experienced banker, who had the deposit and a table with the name of the depositor. The advantages of banks were so obvious that they could not attract the attention of business people, the number of whom, presumably, was also considerable. Gradually, banks began to perform the work of principals in drawing up contracts between clients, and also act as intermediaries in trade transactions. Progress in banking led to the fact that, to facilitate payments, even bank notes (hudu) began to be issued, which circulated on a par with full-fledged money. According to some estimates, it is considered quite reliable that although ancient bankers were not involved in bill transactions, nevertheless there were letters of credit requesting payment from the banker. Usury At all times, need forced one to turn to a rich neighbor. Realizing the hopelessness of the poor man's situation and his indispensability, the rich man saved the bankrupt farm by providing assistance in the form of a loan, the terms of which were different, but always difficult. Often, a loan was given with livestock on the condition that the person taking it must work on the lender’s land in exchange for the use of the livestock’s labor force. A poor man who did not have draft animals to cultivate his fields received a bull from a rich cattle breeder neighbor on the condition of giving him half of the harvest for the temporary use of the bull: This type of debt was called there loss, and then - ladle. For landowners, loans were often issued in grain. When repaying a loan, significantly more grain was always required than was given, i.e. a percentage was charged, the amount of which was usually agreed upon by the parties to the transaction in advance. Around the 12th century, the development of fair trade led to an increase in money turnover in cities, to a transition from a local simple commodity economy to a broad money economy. However, at that time in Western Europe there was too little cash to cover the needs of the rapidly developing monetary circulation, since the extraction of metals was still in a state of offset. The lack of cash was compensated by the development of credit, and since money was “expensive” due to the great demand for it, each owner of a particular amount sought, perhaps, to use it better in order to obtain the greatest profit. The consequence of this was high loan interest rates and the outflow of funds from areas of trade, characterized by a slow rate of circulation of capital. Most of the metal money was involved in international trade and accumulated in the hands of merchants who successfully traded with foreign countries. For the needs of internal circulation, a very small amount of coins remained, the smallest thing. The need for them among townspeople and feudal lords gradually increased. It happened that consignments of goods moved from one fair to another for a whole year, until they were finally bought up at retail and wholesale, by individual consumers or small traders. Such a slow process of circulation of capital required large sums for trading operations. Feudal lords required money for various purposes. Firstly, for personal needs - for home, family, yard, for townspeople who needed handicrafts or rare overseas goods that could only be purchased with money. Secondly, the feudal lords constantly needed money to wage wars and maintain troops. The payment of taxes by cities in cash turned out to be insufficient to satisfy the growing needs of the feudal lords. We had to resort to other methods of raising money, in particular loans. It is known that in foreign trade metallic money appeared in circulation at a time when the city market was still content with the natural form of exchange. Savvy foreign merchants, especially those who had been trading for many years, found themselves in possession of large quantities of precious metals. Many wealthy trading guests, energetic in their youth, stopped business when old age came. The fact is that overseas trade was very dangerous. Caravans were often attacked by robbers, who not only robbed merchants, but also took their lives. The formula “life or wallet” was replaced by “life and wallet.” Gangs of pirates plied their trade on the seas, and gangs of robbers roamed the roads. And the feudal lords themselves, especially the poor ones, also used to hunt merchants. But there was another reason that forced merchants to turn to usury. The low rate of circulation of capital invested in foreign trade led to the fact that profits fell (if at all) into the hands of merchants only after a year or two. However, it was probably believed that the risk was worth the money and, conversely, the money was worth the risk. The profit was very large and often reached 100 percent or more. As local craft production developed, trading profits began to decline. It was then that merchants’ interest in overseas trading operations began to decline: it turned out that trading could be done closer and safer. Another opportunity to make a profit has appeared - usury. It was assumed that trading money should have given its owner no less, but more profit than the profit from trading operations. The reward for providing a cash loan reached 200 percent or more of the latter amount. Gradually, a circle of main clients of moneylenders formed. These were feudal lords who expected to repay the loan with a successful war or an increase in taxes. Usury is the provision of money loans at a very high interest rate. Its origins date back to the period of decomposition of the primitive communal system. K. Marx classified usurious capital as “ancient... antediluvian forms of capital, which long precede the capitalist mode of production and are observed in a wide variety of socio-economic formations.” F. Bacon believes: “If anyone objects that this would seem to encourage usury, which is now barely tolerated in other places, then we will answer that it is better to moderate usury by recognizing it openly than to give it full rein by condoning it in secret.” The development of credit business, the emergence of capitalist banks was directed against usury, since usurious capital took away the entire surplus product from the borrower and, therefore, the latter could not be systematically used for the purposes of capitalist reproduction. Usury persists in the conditions of capitalist production, especially in those countries where capitalist commodity relations are relatively poorly developed. “The more insignificant the role that circulation plays in social reproduction, the more usury flourishes,” wrote K. Marx. In our time, the position of usury is especially strong in India, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Usury in the form providing small loans at very high interest rates also exists in industrialized countries, although these operations are prohibited by law and are usually carried out illegally. From a bill to a bank note With the development of trade towards the end of the Middle Ages, some improvements in the field of exchange occurred. The forms of simple barter, purchase and sale for cash and other financial transactions known since ancient times have undergone changes under the influence of increasingly complex economic relations. In its simplest form, a bill of exchange was a written order by which a person living in one place instructed a third person living in another place to pay the bearer of the bill the amount of money indicated on it. At least three persons participated in the bill of exchange transaction: . a remitter who paid money in a given city and received its value in local coin in another city; . the drawer who accepted the money and undertook to deliver the corresponding amount elsewhere; . the drawee who paid this final amount to the remittor. Later, a fourth person was introduced into bill circulation - the presenter, who presented the bill for payment instead of the remitter and received money. Thanks to the use of bills of exchange, the danger of being robbed was eliminated. The spread of bills of exchange was also facilitated by unrest in the coin industry. In those days, not only kings, but even every city and every feudal lord enjoyed the right to mint coins. A wide variety of coins with different weights and contents of pure metal made exchange very difficult, since merchants could not always understand the ratio of coins of different cities and states. To carry out the exchange of circulating coins, special persons known from ancient times - money changers - appeared in all shopping centers. Now their difference lay in constant relations with each other. Thanks to the use of letters of exchange to a merchant who arrived in a foreign city, it was ensured, on the one hand, the acquisition of a real, genuine coin from a money changer who professionally knew how to distinguish a fake, and on the other hand, the receipt of money that was in circulation in that city. Initially, bills served only to transfer money and did not remain in circulation longer than the time it took for a merchant to move from one city to another. Later, in the 16th century, bills of exchange began to be issued for long periods. Since the deadline for paying the money was pushed back, the whole transaction took on a completely different meaning, approaching in nature a credit transaction. In the 17th century in France, and then in Holland, Germany and England, another improvement is introduced - the transfer of a bill before the maturity date through the so-called endorsement. Thus, the bill begins to serve as an instrument of payment in the hands of merchants. In the Middle Ages, novice bankers and money changers had to enjoy a certain degree of public trust. Therefore, they were usually required to obtain permission from the government to carry on their business. In addition, an oath, guarantors or cash collateral were often required. All this could not continue indefinitely and ultimately led to legislative restrictions on the trade operations of bankers (for example, in Venice, laws of 1374 and 1403), and then to the gradual decline of the money exchange industry in Italy 1 Venetian Bank One of the first public banks was a bank in Venice (Banko delta Piaza de Rialto), founded in 1584 to revitalize trade and industry. The bank was run by officials appointed by the government. Soon, however, the inexperienced officials had to be replaced by private bankers, who put up significant collateral to secure their operations. At first, the Venetian bank enjoyed a monopoly, and private individuals were prohibited from opening banking offices. In order to avoid the well-known troubles mentioned above, the bank was prohibited from carrying out any transactions with the invested money. The bank did not pay any interest on deposits. 2 Venice Giro Bank In 1619, another public bank, the so-called Giro Bank, was founded in Venice on identical principles. After some time, the first bank was closed and only one giro bank remained. All settlements of the two Venetian banks were carried out in a special “bank coin”, which was recognized as the best coin circulating in Venice - dukati d'argento. In relation to it, other money received at the bank's cash desk was counted. The value of this coin was 20% higher than the value the usual coin circulating in Venice. According to historians, the Giro Bank did not always adhere to the rules on the inviolability of deposits; often the board secretly gave large sums to the Venetian government, as a result of which twice, in 1640 and 1717, it was necessary to suspend payments in specie. 3 Genoese Bank of St. George Similar operations were carried out by the Genoese Bank of St. George (Casa di S. Giorgio), which received its final organization in 1407. Its emergence dates back to the middle of the 12th century and is due to a number of government loans from private individuals, both in payment of interest and repayment they were granted the collection of certain taxes and customs duties in Genoa.To collect taxes and make payments, the creditors of the state formed special partnerships, which merged in 1407 into one society called the Society of St. George. The leadership of the society, consisting of several members, was completely independent of state power, and the rulers of the republic, upon taking office, swore an oath to preserve inviolable the rights and freedom of this institution. Already in 1408, the society was allowed to accept private deposits, and, as in the Venetian bank, a special conventional coin was accepted as the basis for all payments. Later the Bank of St. Georgia lends large sums to the Genoese government, to cover which she receives the right to manage the colonial lands of Genoa (in particular, the island of Corsica and the city of Caffa) and levy many taxes. 4 Development of banks in other European countries Similar banks also emerged in Barcelona, ​​Milan, Naples and some other European cities. Somewhat later, a number of public banks appeared in the Netherlands, England and Germany. The first bank was founded in Amsterdam in 1609, in Hamburg - in 1619, in Nuremberg in 1621, in Rotterdam - in 1635, in Stockholm - in 1657. Those who made a deposit were given money from the bank a certificate of deposit that he received a certain amount of money, which he can always get back, and in the books of the bank a special account was opened for him, and his deposits and payments to him from other depositors were recorded in the receipt, and the disbursements that were given at his request to him or other investors. Initially, giro banks were limited to only accepting deposits for safekeeping, for which they charged a certain small fee. But gradually, from their own experience, bank management became convinced that demands for the return of deposits are always limited to only a certain part of them, which can be determined, but never extend to the entire amount. Since a significant part of the deposits lay in banks completely unproductively, in the form of dead capital, the administration came up with the idea of ​​​​using them for banking operations, mainly for issuing short-term loans. From then on, banking institutions stopped charging fees for storing deposits, but instead acquired the right to use deposits for lending operations, although at the same time the bank always remained obliged to return time deposits upon expiration, and perpetual deposits upon demand. Thus, a fundamental change took place in banking: banks, which were simple custodians of valuables, became intermediaries between persons with free capital and persons in need of credit. Giro banks are turning into so-called deposit banks. The benefits of this transformation are obvious. For depositors, it consisted of exemption from fees for storing funds, and for the bank - in receiving income from issuing money as loans. In an effort to expand operations and income, banks began to artificially attract deposits over time, committing to pay a certain percentage on the amounts invested and earning income from the difference between the interest charged on loans and paid on deposits. The certificate, which was issued by the bank to certify the acceptance of a certain amount of money for storage and by which it was possible to get this money back, was often used among merchants as a means of payment when making transactions. Gradually, these certificates turned into bank notes. These notes were issued by the bank to bearer. They represented the bank's obligation to pay the bearer the amount of money indicated on the ticket. Depositors, depositing money into the bank's cash desk, received from it bank notes for the amount of the deposit and thus could always claim the entire deposit or part of it by presenting notes for payment. At first, the value of notes issued by the bank, like previous certificates of deposit, strictly corresponded to the amount of the value of deposits. However, the case in question with the Amsterdam bank suggested that it was possible to issue bank notes for a larger amount than there were deposits in cash. When, as the French approached Amsterdam (during the war between Holland and France, in 1672), the bank gave back the deposits, many coins showed traces of the fire that had occurred in the bank 50 years earlier. This circumstance confirmed that the value of the issued tickets should not necessarily be equal to the value of cash, since, despite the fact that the tickets were issued for the entire amount of money lying in the bank’s storerooms, only part of the tickets were presented to the bank for exchange for money, while the rest remained in treatment, I don’t return to the bank. That is why it was not necessary to touch some of the money lying around for half a century or more. This discovery prompted banks to issue notes worth more than the specie they had in their storerooms. This innovation had extremely important consequences for the development of banking. It allowed banks to increase their working capital and thus gave a great impetus to the development of credit. But it also created opportunities for abuse by bank management, which has repeatedly led to monetary crises. 5 The role of J. Low in the development of banks J. Low argued that money should not be metal, but credit, created by banks in accordance with the needs of the economy, in other words, paper: “The use of banks is the best way that has been used so far to increase amount of money. Developing his idea, J. Law announced two more principles, the importance of which even today is difficult to overestimate. . Firstly, for banks it provided for a policy of credit expansion, i.e. providing loans many times greater than the stock of metallic money stored in the bank. . Secondly, he demanded that the bank be state-owned and carry out the economic policy of the state. J. Law was one of the first to understand the vital role of credit in the development of capitalist production. However, as it became clear later, this also poses a danger to the stability of the banking system. Another danger, or another aspect of the same danger, is the exploitation of the amazing abilities of banks by the state. At that time, the word “inflation” did not yet exist, but it was precisely this that threatened not only J. Low’s bank, but also the country as a whole where this bank would operate. In December 1715, J. Law gave the regent a letter in which he once again explained his idea. There is one mysterious place in the letter. “But the bank,” wrote J. Law, “is not the only and not the greatest of my ideas, I will create an institution that will amaze Europe with the changes it brought about in favor of France. These changes will be more significant than those changes that occurred from the discovery of the Indies or the introduction of credit..." At the end of 1717, J. Law founded a gigantic enterprise - the Company of the Indies. Since it was originally created to settle the Mississippi River basin that then belonged to France , contemporaries most often called it the Mississippi Company. By this time, the East India Company was flourishing in England, and there was a similar society in Holland. But the company organized by J. Law was different from them. First of all, it was not an association of a narrow group of merchants who distributed shares among themselves. The shares of the Mississippi Company were intended for active circulation on the stock exchange. The company was closely connected with the state, not only in the sense that it received from the state enormous privileges, a monopoly in many areas. On the board of the company, next to the “imperturbable Scotsman” J. .Lowe was seated by Philippe d'Orleans himself, the regent of France.The company was merged with the General Bank, which from the beginning of 1719 came under the jurisdiction of the state and became known as the Royal Bank. The latter lent capitalists money to buy shares in the company and managed its financial affairs. All threads of management of both institutions were concentrated by J. Low. Thus, the second “great idea” of J. Low was the idea of ​​centralization, association of capitals. Here, J. Law again “emerged as a prophet ahead of his time.” Only in the middle of the 19th century. In Western Europe and America, the rapid growth of joint stock companies began. At the end of the 20th century. they covered almost the entire economy in economically developed countries, especially large-scale production. The largest bankers of the Middle Ages Florence is the largest center of Renaissance culture. The greatest glory of Florence is the Medici, who over the course of several centuries accomplished many feats in both military and political clashes. Having expanded the field of activity of their banker throughout Europe, through a whole network of trading offices, they became the most famous among the new emerging class of capitalists. Giovanni Medici, nicknamed di Bicci, was a shrewd and cunning politician. In 1421, he corrected the city cadastre and turned out to be useful to the Florentines, without forgetting, however, about his own income. It was he who organized a network of banks that laid the foundation for the power of his family. During the Renaissance, the largest bankers were representatives of the Fugger and Rothschild families. Conclusion The banking system is one of the most important and integral structures of a market economy. At the same time, banks, making monetary payments, lend to the economy, acting as intermediaries in the redistribution of capital, significantly increase the overall efficiency of production, and contribute to the growth of social labor productivity. Today, in conditions of developed commodity and financial markets, the structure of the banking system is becoming dramatically more complicated. New types of financial institutions, new credit instruments and methods of serving clients have emerged. References 1. O. Lavrushin “Bank and National Economy” // Questions of Economics. – 1991. - No. 12 2. History of Economics: Textbook / Ed. Ed. Prof. O.D. Kuznetsova and prof. I.N. Shapkina, - M.: Infra-M, 2000 3. K. Marx, F. Engels Op. T. 25. Part 2 4. V.Z. Chernyak, "Banks and bankers", - M. "Finance and Statistics" 1998. 5. E.B. Shirinskaya "Operations of commercial banks and foreign experience", - M. Finance and Statistics, 1993 ----------------------- Marx K., Engels F. Op. T. 25. Part 2 Lavrushin O. Bank and national economy // Questions of Economics. – 1991. - No. 12 Brandt E.K. Journey to ancient Babylon. – M.: Nauka, 1979. Marx K., Engels F. Soch. T. 25. Part 2
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History of the Russian banking system

Introduction

Banks are a very ancient economic invention. It is believed that the first banks appeared in the Ancient East in the 8th century. BC, when the level of people's well-being allowed them to save while maintaining an acceptable level of current consumption. Then Ancient Greece took up this baton. The most revered temples began to accept citizens' money for safekeeping during wars, since the warring parties considered it unacceptable to plunder sanctuaries.

The question of what a bank is is not as simple as it seems at first glance. In everyday life, banks are a depository for money. At the same time, this or a similar everyday interpretation of the bank not only does not reveal its essence, but also hides its true purpose in the national economy. Even more confusing is the very terminological meaning of the word bank (“banko” is the bench on which monetary and credit transactions were carried out), as well as such modern expressions as data bank, plant bank, book bank, which have no relation to the bank as such. no relation.

The activities of banking institutions are so diverse that their actual essence is truly uncertain. In modern society, banks engage in a wide variety of transactions. They not only organize money circulation and credit relations; Through them, financing of the national economy, insurance operations, purchase and sale of securities, and in some cases, intermediary transactions and property management are carried out. Credit institutions act as consultants, participate in discussions of national economic programs, maintain statistics, and have their own subsidiary enterprises.

1. History of the formation of the Russian banking system

The roots of Russian banks go deep into Russian history, into the era of Veliky Novgorod (XII-XV centuries). Already at that time, banking operations were carried out, cash deposits were accepted, loans were issued against collateral, etc.

The first joint-stock commercial bank in Russia began its operations in 1864 in St. Petersburg. The second commercial bank - Moscow Merchants Bank - opened in 1866.

Until 1861, the Russian banking system was represented mainly by noble banks and banking firms. The former provided loans to landowners against the security of their estates, the latter - to industry and trade. Usury flourished and stock exchanges functioned.

After the abolition of serfdom, the banking system developed rapidly: the State Bank was created, and mutual credit societies emerged. In 1914-1917 Russia's credit system included: the State Bank, commercial banks, mutual credit societies, city public banks, mortgage lending institutions, credit cooperatives, savings banks, and pawnshops.

The leading role belonged to the State Bank and joint-stock commercial banks. Mutual credit societies and city public banks provided loans to the middle and small commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. Mortgage credit institutions included: two state land banks (Peasant Land Bank and Noble Land Bank); 10 joint-stock land banks; 36 provincial and city credit societies. Land banks provided mainly long-term loans to landowners and wealthy peasants. Provincial and especially city credit societies issued loans secured by land and city real estate.

The development of credit cooperation in Russia was closely connected with the emergence of the kulaks. Savings banks, being government institutions, used deposits to invest in government securities. The activities of pawnshops, which issued loans secured by property, were of a usurious nature. In 1914, there were 115 stock exchanges operating. The largest was St. Petersburg.

In 1917, as a result of nationalization, the share capitals of private banks were confiscated and became state property. A state monopoly on banking was also established, former private banks and the State Bank of Russia merged into a single national bank of the RSFSR, mortgage banks and credit institutions serving the middle and petty urban bourgeoisie were liquidated, and transactions with securities were prohibited.

In general, credit cooperation was not nationalized, however, the Moscow People's (Cooperative) Bank servicing it was nationalized, and its board was re-elected to the cooperative department of the Central Administration of the People's Bank of the RSFSR.

As a result of nationalization, a banking system emerged based on the following principles: state monopoly on banking (all credit institutions belonged to the state); merger of all credit institutions into a single national bank; concentration of the entire monetary turnover of the country in banks.

Before the October Revolution, the Russian credit system included a central bank, a system of commercial and land banks, insurance companies and a number of specialized financial institutions. During the NEP period, along with the development of commodity relations and the market, there was a partial revival of the credit system destroyed during the revolution and civil war. However, it was represented by only two levels: the State Bank as the central bank and a fairly extensive network of joint-stock commercial banks, cooperative communal banks, agricultural banks, credit cooperatives, as well as mutual credit societies and savings banks.

In the 1930s The credit system was reorganized, resulting in its excessive consolidation and centralization. Essentially, only one level remained, which included the State Bank, the Construction Bank, and the Bank for Foreign Trade. This structure of the credit system reflected not so much the objective economic needs of the national economy as the politicization of the economy, expressed in accelerated industrialization and forced collectivization. The credit system was “tailored” to political ambitious goals, which in some cases lacked an economic basis.

The result of such a reorganization of the banking system was the emasculation of the very concept of the credit system and the essence of credit. The banking system was organically built into the command-administrative model of management and was in full political and administrative subordination to the government and, above all, to the Minister of Finance.

Instead of an extensive credit system, there were three banks and a savings bank system. The insurance system was moved beyond the credit system. Such transformations reflected the elimination of market relations in the broad sense of the word and the transition to an administrative management system.

The main disadvantages of the banking system that existed before the 1987 reform were:

lack of bill circulation;

banks fulfilling, in essence, the role of a second state budget;

writing off the debts of enterprises, especially in agriculture;

on-lending operations in all areas of the economy;

loss of banking specialization;

monopolism due to the lack of alternative sources of credit for enterprises;

low interest rates;

weak control of banks (on the basis of credit) over activities in various sectors of the economy;

uncontrolled issue of credit money.

The reorganization of the banking system in 1987 was of the same administrative nature. The monopoly of three banks was replaced by a monopoly (more precisely, an oligopoly) of several. The new banking system included: State Bank, Agroprombank, Promstroibank, Zhilsotsbank, Sberbank, Vnesheconombank. Of these, only Agroprombank and Zhilsotsbank were re-created, the rest turned out to be only reorganized and renamed by the previous banks.

The reorganization of 1987 gave rise to more negative than positive aspects:

banks continued to be based on the previous single form of ownership - state;

their monopoly remained, only the number of monopolists increased;

the reform was carried out in the absence of new economic mechanisms;

there was no choice of credit source, since the assignment of enterprises to banks remained;

vertical distribution of credit resources between clients continued;

banks continued to subsidize enterprises and industries, hiding their low liquidity;

the money market and trade in credit resources were not created;

the costs of maintaining the banking apparatus have increased;

a “banking war” broke out over the separation of current and loan accounts;

The reorganization did not affect the activities of insurance institutions - important sources of credit resources.

The reorganization carried out in this way in 1987, while maintaining the ineffective one-level credit system, did not bring its structure closer to the needs of the emerging market relations in Russia. There was a need for further reform of the credit system and bringing it closer to the structure of similar systems in countries with developed market economies.

Objectively, a second stage of banking reform was necessary, aimed at a comprehensive reconstruction of the system of economic relations in the field of credit. It began in 1988 with the creation of the first commercial banks, which were intended to become the foundation for the formation of market relations and structures in the banking sector. The creation of such a market meant replacing administrative-command relations with flexible (economic) methods of moving financial resources to the areas of most effective use.

Banks were supposed to become strongholds for the development and regulation of market relations in Russia.

In order to create a system of monetary regulation adequate to the emerging market relations, the status of the State Bank and its role in the national economy of the country were changed. The bank was removed from subordination to the government and thus received the necessary economic independence. After Russia gained sovereignty, the Central Bank of Russia was created on the basis of the State Bank on the basis of the concept adopted in states with developed market economies.

As a result, a two-tier banking system has practically been formed in our country: Level I - the Central Bank of Russia, Level II - commercial banks and other financial and credit institutions carrying out individual banking operations.

Over the past years, the Russian banking system has gone through stages of active development and periods of crisis.

The largest group of Russian commercial banks - about half - are banks organized on the initiative of individual groups of entrepreneurs. Here all power belongs to the boards of banks and their organizers.

2. The current state of the banking system in Russia

bank credit cooperation

A significant role in the Russian banking sector is played by approximately a third of commercial banks - former specialized and industry banks with significant state participation in their capital. These banks have sufficiently large equity capital, assets, and the required number of branches, which allows them to constantly replenish their own credit base and increase turnover.

The Savings Bank of the Russian Federation plays a special role in the Russian credit system. A wide network of branches (more than 30 thousand), enormous financial power gives Sberbank the opportunity to provide the population with services that are not yet available on such a scale to other commercial banks: receiving from citizens and collecting utility, tax, and insurance payments; payment of pensions and benefits, salaries. None of the commercial banks issues as many loans to individuals as Sberbank of the Russian Federation - for housing construction, improvement of peasant and farm households, for various urgent needs, as assistance to small and medium-sized businesses. But the sluggishness of such a huge structure does not allow for the effective use of the financial resources concentrated in the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation.

Many new banks that emerged “out of the blue” are rapidly progressing, i.e. without relying on former state banks. New banks are created and operate, as a rule, in close contact with a financial group. In most cases, these are subsidiaries of such groups - trading houses, commercial companies, exchanges, etc. As an example, we can name MDM, Alfa Bank, Rosbank, etc. The above-mentioned banks quickly reached the all-Russian level and turned into large universal banks.

At the present stage of market transformations in the Russian national economy, the role of banks has increased sharply. On the one hand, they actively contribute to the movement of the economy towards the market, on the other hand, they energetically help the economic progress of its most important sectors. Despite inflation, commercial banks are beginning to finance industrial and agricultural production, trade, and small and medium-sized businesses.

General trends characteristic of developed economies are beginning to appear in Russia.

Separately, it is worth noting the treasury system that began to develop in the Russian Federation. It is designed to serve the state budgetary funds. True, its functioning at the current stage is not clearly supported by legislative acts. As a result, negative trends arise that are observed in the financial sector due to the ill-conceived functioning of the treasury. An example is the “fever” of interbank rates at the end of tax payment deadlines for legal entities, as there is a flow of money from the accounts of commercial banks to the treasury and a temporary decrease in short-term liquidity of the entire system of commercial banks. The situation is similar due to the fact that the distribution of funds by the Treasury is carried out regardless of the deadlines for paying taxes by legal entities.

The main results of the past years show that the actions of the Bank of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation aimed at restructuring the banking system and improving the condition of the banking sector yielded positive results and made it possible to consolidate and develop positive trends that began in 1999. In 2000-2001 gg. The banking system developed in favorable macroeconomic conditions. They, in turn, were characterized by an increase in the production of goods and services, an increase in investment activity, real incomes of the population, positive trends in the foreign economic sphere, as well as in the field of public finance.

Favorable conditions for the recapitalization of banks contributed to consolidating the trend of capital growth in the banking system due to the growth of authorized capital.

The total capital of operating banks is growing at a fairly rapid pace. A positive factor in banks increasing their capital base is that the sources of capital growth were not only an increase in the size of the authorized capital and subordinated loans, but also profit and the funds formed from it.

The resource base of banks continues to expand. The funds of enterprises and organizations play an increasingly important role in it. Household deposits in banks are growing in rubles faster than in foreign currency. The share of household deposits in total liabilities of the banking system remained at the pre-crisis level, which was about 20%.

The situation on the market of ruble interbank loans and deposits, on the contrary, was characterized by positive dynamics. The volume of attracted interbank loans and deposits in rubles is rapidly increasing. But at the same time, the share of interbank loans and deposits in the total liabilities of the banking system is decreasing.

The growth of the capital and resource base of commercial banks, a certain improvement in the quality of their loan portfolio, contributes to a gradual improvement in the financial stability of the banking system.

Domestic banks are faced with the task of increasing their capitalization. It should be understood: on the one hand, the opacity of the ownership structure and business operations of Russian banks serves as a barrier to the intensive influx of foreign capital, on the other hand, the higher level of interest rates in Russia keeps funds raised by foreign banks in our country.

However, along with some favorable trends, which in no case should be overestimated, the development of the Russian banking system is still complicated by a number of unresolved problems.

Firstly, the high level of risk that accompanies investment in the real sector of the economy prevents banks from intensifying their lending activities.

The main risk factors are: the low pace of structural transformations in the domestic economy, the imperfection of the taxation system, the low creditworthiness of many domestic enterprises, their insufficient level of disclosure of information, as well as the weakness of the regulatory framework ensuring the rights of creditors. These factors lead to a significant concentration of credit risks among a limited number of borrowers.

Secondly, as a result of the shortage of reliable financial instruments, banks accumulated a significant amount of free cash.

Thirdly, the current structure of banks' resource base in terms of maturity (the predominance of short-term liabilities) is a factor constraining the development of credit operations of domestic banks.

And finally, fourthly, despite the fact that the positive trend in capitalization of the banking system continues, there is a lag in the rate of increase in the capital base from the rate of growth of assets and liabilities of banks.

Some problems of the banking sector are structural in nature and are closely related to the general state of the economy, the level of development of monetary relations and the legal framework. Such problems include the ineffectiveness of the risk management and internal control systems of many credit institutions, the insufficient reliability in some cases of the information disclosed by banks about their financial condition, and the lack of a deposit guarantee system.

3. Development trends of the Russian banking system

In a modern market economy, the banking system plays a huge role. Its activities are related to the process of reproduction. Banks are elements of the banking system that mediate connections between economic entities, and any change in the banking system will in one way or another affect the entire economy. It follows from this that a reliable banking system is an important condition for the effective functioning of the entire market economy. That is why today one of the pressing issues in the modern market economy of Russia has become the question of studying the banking system. The object of study in this report is the main trends and problems in the development of the banking system in Russia.

Let me remind you that today, in Russia, as in most developed countries, there is a two-tier banking system.

Modern commercial banks play an important role in it. They are banks that directly serve enterprises and organizations, as well as the population - their clients. Regardless of their form of ownership, commercial banks are independent economic entities. Their relationships with clients are commercial in nature. The main purpose of the functioning of commercial banks is to obtain maximum profit.

The essence of a commercial bank lies in its most important functions:

accumulation and mobilization of temporarily free funds;

mediation in making payments and settlements;

credit intermediation;

creation of means of payment;

organization of issue and placement of securities.

The first function is one of the most important. It underlies its definition and determines its essence. By attracting capital that is released in the process of economic activity, as well as the savings of the population, banks provide them for temporary use to various borrowers who need additional capital. By performing these actions, commercial banks accumulate and mobilize temporarily available funds and carry out intersectoral and interregional redistribution.

The bank also acts as an intermediary in making payments and settlements in the household, i.e. banks transfer funds, thereby ensuring the functioning of the payment system. Currently, there is a gradual reduction in cash turnover and an increase in the share of non-cash payments. For example, in the Russian Federation non-cash accounts account for about 65%, and in foreign countries over 90%. This allows us to talk about the high efficiency of using payment instruments. In order to carry out this function, commercial banks open accounts for their clients and transfer funds. Currently, a system of electronic payments - electronic money - is being developed. Centralization of payments in banks helps reduce distribution costs. In addition, commercial banks also conduct international payments.

The next important function of the bank is credit intermediation. By performing this function, the bank becomes an intermediary between the entity that has available funds and the entity that needs it. Very often in the economy a situation arises when some people have free funds, but other people have a real need for them. Theoretically, the first entities could lend their funds to the latter, but in reality it is very difficult among all economic entities to find those who have sufficient funds to lend for a certain period. A commercial bank helps solve this situation. Acting as a credit intermediary, he accumulates funds and provides these resources to those who need them in the required quantity and for a certain period. Thus, commercial banks provide loans to businesses and individuals. The implementation of this function helps to expand production, expand consumer demand, and facilitate the financial activities of the government.

Another important function of a commercial bank is to create means of payment. Banks have the right to create money, i.e. increase the money supply. This banking function is based on excess reserves and the multiplier principle. The Central Bank establishes a certain minimum percentage of the value of certain categories of deposits, fixing the amount of funds required to be kept by each commercial bank in the form of reserve deposits with the Central Bank. The required reserve standards are set by the Central Bank as a percentage of the volume of deposits. The amount of interest varies depending on the type of deposit. For example, for time deposits the required reserve ratio is lower than for demand deposits. Required reserves are the portion of deposits that commercial banks must keep as non-interest bearing deposits with the Central Bank. The Central Bank uses mandatory reserve requirements to conduct interbank settlements and to regulate the credit and banking system. It should also be noted that the size of the credit resources of each individual commercial bank is determined by the amount of its excess reserves.

Excess reserves = Total reserves - required reserves

The activities of commercial banks are aimed at making a profit, so they strive for all their financial resources to generate interest income. This is why banks use virtually all of their excess reserves to make loans or purchase securities. It should also be noted here that the banking system can lend several times its excess reserves, while an individual commercial bank can lend ruble for ruble against its excess reserves. In general, the banking system does not lose reserves that an individual bank loses.

The function of creating means of payment for commercial banks appeared as a result of the development of credit money and the transformation of banknote emission into deposit-checking. This made it possible to increase non-cash turnover and reduce the issue of banknotes. The essence of this function is that a commercial bank issues bills, plastic cards, checks, and creates money in non-cash form in the form of deposits in order to ensure that the amount of money in circulation matches the needs for it in order to maintain the normal rate of economic growth. But it must be remembered that an excessive amount of money in circulation leads to increased inflation and vice versa. In this case, the central bank restricts the creation of money through a change in the value of the money multiplier. The bank multiplier, or money supply multiplier, is the inverse of the required reserve ratio and expresses the maximum amount of credit money that can be created by one monetary unit of excess reserves at a given required reserve ratio.

The banking multiplier, like any multiplier in the economy, can work both to increase and decrease. This means the following: the higher the required reserve ratio established by the Central Bank, the less funds commercial banks can use to carry out credit operations. An increase in the required reserve ratio leads to a decrease in the money multiplier and, as a consequence, to a reduction in the money supply. Thus, the Central Bank can change the amount of money supply in the economy by changing the required reserve ratio.

It is also impossible not to note such a banking function as organizing the issue and placement of securities. In the securities market, commercial banks can act as issuers of securities, as intermediaries in transactions with securities, and as investors by purchasing securities. Securities issued by commercial banks can be divided into two groups:

stocks and bonds;

bills, savings and certificates of deposit.

By issuing their own shares, banks act as a joint stock company and not as a financial and credit organization. At the same time, by issuing and servicing bills, deposit and savings certificates, commercial banks perform one of the most important functions, which was mentioned above - the accumulation of funds and the creation of means of payment.

Acting as an intermediary in transactions with securities, commercial banks sell them, store them and receive dividends on them, on behalf of firms. Banks receive commissions from these transactions. Also, on a commission basis, by agreement with organizations that have issued their bonds and shares, commercial banks can take over their sale and receive income from them. Securities can also be accepted by the bank as collateral for loans issued. In this case, the procedure for receiving income from securities will be determined in the loan agreement, which is concluded between the borrower and the bank.

In addition to the listed transactions with securities, commercial banks can act as depositories. This means that banks maintain securities records and a register of shareholders.

Currently, commercial banks are active participants in the securities market.

In a market economy, all operations carried out by commercial banks can be divided into three main groups: passive, active and commission-intermediary (active-passive).

Passive operations mean raising funds. The bank's liabilities include its own and borrowed capital. The bank's own capital, in turn, consists of the authorized capital (share capital), reserve capital and retained earnings. In the structure of banks' liabilities, the share of equity capital, as a rule, is 9-15%. The structure of banking capital is dominated by attracted capital. It includes deposits, loans received, as well as funds raised through the issue of bank debt securities (for example, bonds).

The bank's active operations include the placement of borrowed funds. Bank assets are understood as the totality of property assets of an economic entity, which are formed at the expense of resources and from which they expect to receive economic benefits in the future. Below is a diagram characterizing the dynamics of asset growth of Russian banks.

As for commission operations of commercial banks, they are performed for a certain fee (commission) on behalf of the client. Such operations include settlements, guarantees of currency transactions, collection (i.e., execution of client orders to receive payments on bills and checks when due) of bills and checks, acceptance of securities for storage and trade transactions. Banks perform trust transactions for individuals as well as for companies. These operations can be divided into three types:

agency services

performing operations by proxy

inheritance management

Firms, as a rule, seek the services of the trust departments of their commercial banks, which carry out various transactions for them. Joint-stock companies resort to the services of a bank, entrusting it with the registration of shares issued to the stock exchange, entrusting it with ownership rights to shares and bonds. The bank, in turn, carries out payment functions for companies. It pays dividends to company shareholders and redeems maturing bonds. In addition, trust departments in commercial banks perform the function of a depository, i.e. keep their shares. The bank can also temporarily manage the affairs of a company in the event of its liquidation, reorganization or bankruptcy.

For the provision of agency services, banks receive commission payments, which are most often determined on a contractual basis because the amount of work varies by type of transaction. Commercial banks also receive commissions on trust transactions. For operations related to inheritance management, remuneration to the bank in a number of countries is established by law or through a court decision.

Therefore, it can be said that banks in modern society provide a wide range of transactions and services to their customers. As a result of this, we can conclude that commercial banks occupy an important place in the banking system of the Russian Federation.

There are problems in the functioning of the Russian banking system. Over the past 20 years, the banking sector has come a long way in development. However, from its inception in the late 80s of the 20th century to the present, development has proceeded largely according to an extensive development model. This means that banks focused their activities on short-term results. This orientation also results in a high concentration of risks and an aggressive commercial policy. The aggressive policy of some banks had a negative impact on their stability, which in turn was very evident in the conditions of the economic crisis and required the government of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia to take emergency measures to ensure the systemic stability of the banking sector, which made it possible to overcome the crisis and maintain the trust of the population and firms in banking system. It was the insufficient development of the banking system that served as one of the channels through which the global crisis affected the Russian economy. Banks turned out to be the weak point of the Russian economic system and were unable to fully finance the country's developing economy.

Currently, the banking sector has not yet reached the required level of development of market discipline and competitive environment. This negatively affects the quality of banking services and requires a transformation of the banking sector development model.

Work to change the direction of development of the Russian banking system has been taking place since the early 2000s as part of the implementation of strategies for the development of the banking sector of the Russian Federation. For example, the strategy for 2008 provided for the implementation of measures to strengthen confidence in the banking system, enhance its transparency, increase the role of Russian credit institutions in the economic development of the country, and measures to increase the level of protection of creditors and depositors of credit institutions.

In 2005-2008, favorable macroeconomic conditions developed in Russia, as a result of which there was an increase in the volume of banking activity. In 2008, the Government of the Russian Federation carried out the main activities to implement the 2008 Strategy. A distinctive feature of this strategy was a combination of measures aimed at maintaining high rates of economic growth. Among these measures, we can note the creation of favorable conditions for lending to the real sector of the Russian economy, actions to increase the competitiveness of the banking sector in the context of liberalization of Russian currency legislation and improvement of the banking supervision system, taking into account best international practices and recommendations of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Also, in accordance with the 2008 Strategy, federal laws were adopted aimed at increasing the capitalization of the banking sector, protecting the rights of consumers of financial services, increasing the transparency of consumer lending and equalizing the conditions for access of Russian and foreign banks to the Russian banking services market.

The banking development strategy for the period until 2015 was prepared taking into account the tasks of the new stage and takes into account the existing results of reforming the banking sector. At the same time, the continuity of the main goals of development of the banking sector in Russia is maintained.

It should be noted that during the implementation of the 2008 Strategy, the development characteristics of the banking sector changed significantly. These changes correspond to the dynamic development of both individual credit institutions and segments of the banking services market. However, along with the rapid growth in development indicators of the banking sector, problems in conducting banking business remain, due to which the competitiveness of the Russian banking sector remains insufficient. This problem is due to various factors within and outside the banking sector.

The internal shortcomings of the banking sector include the following:

involvement of some credit institutions in illegal activities;

the existence of forms of activity that are opaque to the regulator and the market;

unreliable accounting and reporting, which lead to distortion of information about the work of credit institutions;

irresponsibility of the owners and managers of some banks when making business decisions dictated by the pursuit of short-term profits and damaging financial stability;

the unsatisfactory state of governance in some cases, including risk management and corporate aspects;

insufficient technological reliability of information systems of credit institutions. This is due to the disorder in the use of information technologies in banking, including remote banking technologies.

All of these shortcomings generally reduce the authority of the banking sector and the level of trust in it, and also worsen the ability of banks to attract investments.

As for external factors, these include:

limited and predominantly short-term nature of credit resources;

lack of diversification of the economy and the general shortage of its investment opportunities;

high level of non-core (administrative) expenses of credit institutions.

Currently, the problem of fraud remains a fairly common phenomenon, which is often encountered by both banks and banking regulators. The presence of such unresolved problems explains the need for additional efforts on the part of the government aimed at qualitatively changing the activities of banks. To summarize, it should be noted that the development of the socio-economic system of the country as a whole will depend on the strength of the banking system. With a weak banking system, the country's socio-economic system will not have sources for successful development.

This implies the importance of developing and implementing a program for the comprehensive development of the banking system. The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance have prepared a document on the strategy for the development of the banking sector of the Russian Federation for the period until 2015. According to this document, the main goal of the development of the banking sector in Russia is to actively participate in the modernization of the economy based on a significant increase in the level and quality of banking services provided to organizations and the population. In addition, the banking sector needs systemic stability. Achieving these goals is a necessary condition for the development of the Russian economy and increasing its competitiveness in the international arena. It should be noted that at present, conditions are already being created for a further increase in the contribution of credit institutions to increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the Russian economy. At the same time, the need for a more decisive transition to a model of development of the banking sector, which is characterized by a focus on long-term efficiency and a priority of qualitative performance indicators, became obvious. transition to an intensive model. This model fully meets the long-term priorities of Russian economic development.

The intensive development model of the banking sector can be characterized by the following features:

provision by credit institutions of modern and diverse services to organizations and the population;

high level of competition in the banking market and the financial services market in general;

high level of market discipline and transparency of credit institutions and other market participants;

responsibility of members of the board of directors and owners of the bank for the honest and balanced conduct of business. Responsibility for the accuracy of information published and provided to supervisory authorities;

a developed corporate governance system that would ensure long-term efficiency of the banking business and balanced management decisions;

a developed risk management system that ensures the timely identification of all risks, as well as the assessment of their possible consequences and the adoption of measures to protect against risks;

level of capitalization of the banking sector, corresponding to the tasks of development, increasing the efficiency and competitiveness of the banking business.

Such a change in the development model of the banking sector will require the Bank of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation to implement the following set of measures:

) Activities aimed at improving the legal environment, including the development of legislation and the creation of conditions that would ensure the possibility of rational business conduct, more effective protection of private property and the development of competition in all segments of the financial market. Improving legislation that defines the powers and possibilities for carrying out certain banking operations by non-banking organizations is extremely important for the successful development of the banking sector. An example would be developed and developing countries in which special legislative acts “On trust and credit companies”, “On cooperative credit organizations”, etc. have been developed, adopted and are in force. These laws take into account the specifics of the activities of non-banking financial organizations and at the same time provide for the possibility of organizations conducting the same operations. For example, commercial banks have the right to carry out capital management, while non-banking institutions can only carry out capital management for certain credit institutions. As a result, a high level of competition is maintained. In addition, non-banking organizations in this case have the opportunity to realize additional competitive advantages in the market for attracted resources because they are not obliged to comply with the requirement of the Central Bank to reserve funds.

) Activities aimed at improving banking supervision and banking regulation by developing their substantive component in accordance with international standards. This work should be complemented by the formation of a system of regulation and control over the activities of all organizations providing financial services.

) Activities aimed at creating a structure that would meet modern requirements and be based on the use of advanced banking technologies, credit history bureaus, the development of a collateral registration system, payment and settlement systems, including measures to create an international financial center in the Russian Federation. Of course, modern banking is impossible without the use of advanced information technologies, which make it possible to improve the quality of services provided. Practice shows that the use of new banking technologies by credit institutions significantly increases the efficiency of their activities. It is worth noting that the prospects for the development of the banking sector strongly depend on how advanced the methods of carrying out banking activities are based on the application of achievements in the field of information. In recent years, there has been a process of intensive technological modernization in the banking sector. It is associated with the introduction of automated banking systems and remote banking technologies in credit institutions, which in turn allows expanding the client base and offerings of banking services. The introduction of new technologies and new banking products will give credit institutions the opportunity to increase the speed and quality of banking operations, provide greater opportunities for receiving cash from bank accounts and protect the property interests of citizens from counterfeiting. This will also simplify payments for the population and create conditions for promoting banking products and services to remote regions with a low level of development of banking services. At the same time, questions arise about ensuring the reliability of the functioning of automated banking systems and their information security. This means that one of the important areas in the activities of credit institutions should be ensuring the protection of information and identifying risks of a technical and technological nature. In connection with the expanding use of modern banking technologies, an urgent question arises about legislatively assigning to the Bank of Russia the functions of determining the minimum requirements for managing risks in this area by credit institutions. This is necessary to increase the reliability of banking activities. In this paragraph, it should also be noted the work on creating an international financial center in the Russian Federation, carried out by the Bank of Russia and the Government of the Russian Federation. It is an essential element in the development of a modern financial structure in Russia. The creation of this center will contribute to a deeper integration of the banking sector and Russian credit organizations into global markets and, in addition, will ensure a comprehensive improvement of the existing system of financial market regulation. In addition, it is planned to legislate the rules on the immunity of central banks of foreign countries and their property in order to increase the attractiveness of investments by central banks. The Government of the Russian Federation pays a lot of attention to the issue of increasing the share of non-cash payments in the Russian Federation. In this regard, it is planned to continue work on the creation and implementation of a set of measures aimed at introducing a universal electronic citizen card with an integrated special banking application.

) Activities aimed at improving the quality of corporate governance and risk management in credit institutions. These measures arose from the need to clarify the functions and competence of the board of directors and executive bodies of a credit institution, establishing the requirement to ensure qualified and conscientious performance of their functions. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to make changes and amendments to legislative acts.

) Activities aimed at developing competition and maintaining a competitive environment in the banking business. It is expected to take measures aimed at maintaining equal conditions for doing business by all credit institutions, as well as suppressing abuses on the part of credit institutions due to their dominant position in the banking services market.

) Activities aimed at improving the quality and expanding the range of banking and other financial services in Russia. Competition for clients and the development of intra-industry and inter-industry competition in the financial market will contribute to improving quality. In this regard, credit institutions will have to pay special attention to providing clients with a range of modern banking services while reducing unjustified procedural, administrative and cost costs for clients when consuming them. For example, reasonable minimization of the package of documents for obtaining a loan and reducing the time required for consideration of relevant applications will significantly change the situation in the sphere of interaction of credit institutions with a group of clients representing private businesses. The work carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Bank of Russia to improve legislation on consumer lending will also help improve the quality and expand banking and other financial services. In addition, the improvement of the quality of services and the development of fair competition will be facilitated by the development of market discipline and the expansion of the publication by banks of objective information about their activities. The Government of the Russian Federation will take measures aimed at increasing the transparency of credit institutions. In turn, the Bank of Russia will continue the practice of posting materials on its official website that explain aspects of the provision of banking services.

) Activities aimed at improving the country's payment system. In this aspect, it is important to expand the system of gross accounts by the Bank of Russia in real time, introduce uniform standards of electronic documents, improve the tariff system, on the one hand, and change the position of the Bank of Russia regarding the regulation of private payment systems with the help of which internal and interbank settlements, on the other hand. In this matter, one can rely on the experience of foreign developed countries, in which central banks are more actively involved in monitoring the state of payment systems.

) Activities aimed at resolving issues of increasing the capitalization of the banking sector. Increasing the amount of capital of credit institutions, improving its qualities and ensuring a sufficient level of capital coverage of the risks taken by credit institutions is a necessary condition for the development of the banking sector. From January 1, 2012, the amount of equity (capital) for all banks will have to be at least 180 million rubles.

) Creating conditions for the speedy implementation of the requirements of the Basel II and Basel III principles for risk management in the banking sector, allowing to increase customer confidence.

These are the main ways to solve existing problems and trends in the development of the banking sector in Russia over the next few years. According to the strategy, the Russian banking system must comply with international standards in all major aspects, such as regulation and supervision, market discipline and transparency, quality of management and organization of activities. The expected results are based on the Concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020 and take into account the improvement of the banking sector.

At the same time, the qualitative characteristics of development become of paramount importance, which predetermine the strengthening of the role of banks in the innovative processes of the real sector of the economy and increasing the efficiency of investments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to note that at present, the special role of the Russian banking system is to ensure stable economic growth, preserve and increase citizens' savings, as well as expand the capabilities of enterprises and organizations to attract financial resources. The exclusive role of the banking system is that it provides settlements and payments. Most commercial transactions are carried out through credit, deposits and investment transactions. It should also be noted that a clear division of spheres of influence and powers between the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and commercial banks can significantly increase the efficiency of the banking system, and this in turn helps the development of the country’s economy. In addition, modern commercial banks, having gone through a period of formation, have become powerful financial structures and began to play an important role in the complex processes of transformation of the economy and society. A serious material base was created, international technologies and standards were introduced, and qualified specialists were trained. As for the problems and prospects for the development of the banking sector in Russia, today it is necessary to regulate the banking sector and apply a set of interrelated measures that would be aimed at ensuring the stability of the entire system. To summarize, it should be noted that banks, acting as financial intermediaries, accumulate and transform the savings of some economic entities into loans to other entities, which means that the functioning of the country’s economy will depend on how well the banking system is organized.

List of used literature

1. Bratko A.G. Banking law of Russia. [text]: Textbook / A.G. Bratko M., 2003. P. 848

Tedeev A.A., Parygina V.A. Banking law [text]: Lecture notes. / A.A., Tedeev, V.A. Parygina M., 2004. P. 240

Banking law of the Russian Federation: General part. [text]: Textbook / Tosunyan G.A., Vikulin A.Yu., Ekmalyan A.M.; Ed. B.N. Topornina. M., 1999. P. 448

Alekseeva D.G., Pykhtin S.V., Khomenko E.G. Banking law. [text]: Textbook. / D.G. Alekseeva, S.V. Pykhtin, E.G. Khomenko. - M., 2003. P. 480.

Oleinik O.M. Fundamentals of banking law [text]: Course of lectures / O.M. Oleinik. - M., 1999. P. 424

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Banks in the modern sense as institutions that accept deposits and issue loans appeared in the late Middle Ages, in the middle of the 17th century. The prerequisite for the emergence of banks was the emergence of savings, the need for their reliable storage, as well as the need of the emerging capitalist economy and international trade for additional monetary resources.
Banks' issuing activities were preceded by deposit activities. This happened in England, in the first banks of Hamburg and Amsterdam. But in general, banking activity acquired significant importance precisely with the beginning of issuing activity. In exchange for the money and jewelry handed over to the banker for safekeeping, people began to receive receipts (banknotes) that could be passed from hand to hand.
It was only after bankers had gained the trust of the public through the circulation of banknotes that people began to deposit large sums of money in banks on the security of just a book entry. Moreover, bankers were able to lend on any large scale from the amounts deposited in their banks only when they were able to pay their notes in cash in case of a sudden increase in demand from depositors. The issue of banknotes was the area where the first banking problems arose, and it was here that states most strongly sought to establish a monopoly through the licensing system.
The prototype of the current two-tier banking system was the banking system of England, which developed in the second half of the 17th century. The first level of the banking system is represented by the central (issuing) bank. At the second level there are commercial banks of various types and non-banking financial institutions
companies (investment companies, investment funds, insurance companies, pension funds, pawnshops, trust companies and credit unions and associations, etc.). Such a system developed as a result of the evolution of the banking system of England from the end of the 16th century, and from the 18th century. this model gradually spread to other countries. Among the developed countries, the model of a two-tier, tightly regulated banking system was the last to be officially adopted by the United States at the beginning of the last century.
In the 20th century the centralized system of banking business began to be considered not only as a common phenomenon, “but also as one of the prerequisites for achieving the highest levels of economic development. The expediency of the current system is practically not in doubt. Belief in the desirability of central banks has become universal, only methods are discussed and practiced regulation In the last two decades of the 20th century, a desire was revealed to strengthen control through the establishment of international banking institutions, as well as through international cooperation between the central banks of different countries.
However, a central bank is not the result of natural development. It is created at the initiative of the government, enjoys special privileges and has special obligations. Typically, the central bank acts as banker to the government and ordinary banks and has a monopoly or preemptive right to issue paper money. WITH
This privilege is associated with other functions and characteristics of the central bank: it controls the bulk of the country's foreign exchange reserves and gold reserves, and its short-term liabilities and banknotes constitute the bulk of the cash reserves of ordinary banks. By regulating the volume of money emission and the level of interest rates, the central bank controls the size of the money supply, the country's banking system and the general situation in the credit market.
A central bank may trace its origins to a private institution with the purpose of making a profit. Another reason for the emergence of a central bank may be the need to help finance government spending. It is this reason that underlies the creation of the Bank of England, the same prerequisites for the emergence of a central bank in France and other countries. The Bank of England, whose establishment in 1694 marked the birth of the two-tier banking system, was the result of a rather fortuitous political event. To meet his financial needs, King Charles II was forced to
to a certain extent rely on loans from London bankers. The British royal court, having lost the trust of London bankers due to Charles's refusal
II to pay his debts, sought to find a replacement source of loans. Subsequently, King William III and his government turned to the scheme of the Scottish financier William Patterson, according to which an institution called the Governor and Company of the Bank of England was created.
The establishment of this institution was formalized in the Tunnage Act, which, among many other articles, provided for the formation of a Bank "for the improvement of the collection of funds and the transfer to the Exchequer of 1,200,000 pounds sterling." At that time, this event seemed absolutely insignificant.
From the very first years, the newly formed bank occupied an exceptional position compared to other banks. In 1697, the government allowed him to increase his own capital and thereby expand the production of banknotes. The government gave the Bank a monopoly on government payments: all payments to the government had to be made through the Bank, which led to a significant increase in the Bank's prestige. It was established that no other bank could be established through the passage of a special law by Parliament. Finally,
The law stipulated that no actions of the Governor and the CO of the Bank of England could serve as a basis for using the private property of any of the members of the corporation as compensation for damage caused. This meant granting the Bank the privilege of limited liability. All other banking institutions were denied such a privilege over the next century and a half.
In the 18th century The relationship between the Bank and the government became increasingly stronger. The concentration of privileges in the hands of the Bank has provided it with an exceptionally prestigious and influential position in the financial world. Small private firms had considerable difficulty competing with the Bank in the same lines of business, and most private banknotes in London ceased to exist by about 1780. Another consequence of this development was that small banks turned to the practice of depositing their funds with the Bank of England , which has already begun to acquire the features of a central bank.
In the first half of the 19th century. Through a system of legislative acts limiting free banking entrepreneurship, a system of centralized banking business with a unified reserve system was finally formed. The debate was put to an end by the Law of 1844, which proclaimed the final monopolization of emission activities in the hands of the Bank of England.
The existing two-level centralized system was characterized by the following features
concentration of issuing activity in the Bank of England Bank of England banknotes are recognized as legal tender,
legislative restrictions on the creation of deposit banks, on the issuing activities of existing banks and a ban on bank mergers,
control of the Bank of England over the activities of other banks and overall money turnover,
significant government intervention in the sphere of banking activities, regulation of banking operations and their restrictions
Simultaneously with the formation of the banking system in England, similar processes took place in Scotland. However, the development of the banking sector in Scotland occurred independently of England and somewhat differently. At first, the practice of issuing permitting concessions to banks prevailed there. Founded by a group of Scottish merchants in 1695, the Bank of Scotland for 21 years owned monopoly rights to banking activities, awarded to it in accordance with with a charter of the Scottish Parliament Unlike the Bank of England, the Bank of Scotland set about establishing its own branches from the very beginning. When its monopoly rights came to an end in 1716, the Bank of Scotland tried to bitterly resist the prospect of competition, but in 1727 a second charter was awarded to the Royal Bank Scotland (Royal Bank of Scotland). This created a competitive environment in Scotland.
Obtaining a charter meant that the bank received limited liability rights. In Nova Scotia, there were no restrictions on the implementation of banking activities by joint-stock companies if the shareholders were willing to accept unlimited liability for the bank's debts. Therefore, very soon joint-stock banks without a charter began to appear everywhere. All other banks were established in accordance with ordinary laws. There were no restrictions on the number of partners, and after a short period of abuse in the early stages of banking, the business passed into the hands of large and financially strong joint stock companies
The Scottish system had certain specific features that from the very beginning distinguished it from systems that existed in other countries. It involved intense competition between banks and strict adherence to the practice of regular mutual redemption of notes, notes exchanged twice a week, and balances
were encouraged right away. The system for separating everyday life here was mastered almost from the very beginning, and in comparison with other countries, the intensity of development of the deposit business and credit instruments turned out to be much higher. By 1826, in Scotland there were 3 chartered banks (with 24 departments),
22 joint-stock banks (with 97 branches) and 11 private banks At this time, legislation had just been passed in England to allow the creation of joint-stock banks, and even the Bank of England had not yet established a single branch. At this point in the history of Scottish banking there was only one serious failure - bankruptcy of Air Bank when the total loss suffered by the population was estimated at 36,000 pounds, while in England, with its centralized system of bankruptcy and termination of funds, losses periodically took on a massive scale
Scotland's network of resilient, non-interventionist
legislators of banks with an already highly developed deposit industry, its apparent success and the absence of abuses leading to bans impressed the British, who by that time had witnessed the collapse of a huge number of small ordinary banks. To an even greater extent, this system inspired supporters of free banking business on the continent. However, in the end, banks Scotland were forced to work according to the general rules established by British law.
The Scottish banking system was an example of free banking, the main features and principles of which were adopted by the US banking system and, to a certain extent, remained there until the 30s. XX century
The special privileges and dominant position of the central bank impose obligations on it that overshadow the goal of making a profit. This is confirmed today by the Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve System. It is assumed that in
as the “lender of last resort”, the central bank comes to the aid of conventional banks when they lack reserve funds. It is believed that, by being able to ignore the profit motive, the central bank, by adjusting monetary market parameters such as interest rates, serves public purposes. For example, until 1914, it firmly adhered to the policy of the gold standard, and now it controls inflation while stimulating production and employment (to the extent that these goals are feasible and compatible).
Free banking is a system in which banks carry out transactions and issue means of payment, subject only to general company legislation. A bank may not need special permission to begin operations if it can demonstrate prospects for profitable operations, raise sufficient capital, and gain public confidence. It has the same rights and obligations as any other commercial enterprise. Its means of payment are an "unconditional obligation to be redeemed" or exchanged for legal tender.
At the present stage of development of a market economy, the question of the structure of the banking system has arisen again - in theoretical discussions since 1988, in the works of a number of economists (Lawrence White, John Selgin). However, changes in the banking supervision system of Great Britain and Japan (1998), Germany (2002), the formation of the euro area and the European Central Bank, growing since the 1980s. globalization processes and deregulation of financial markets indicate the beginning of the “erosion” of the traditional two-tier banking system.
Moreover, the tasks of managing inflation rates, money turnover, and ensuring the stability of the national currency cannot be solved within the framework of the banking sector alone and the regulation of banking activities alone: ​​a huge number of different financial companies, funds, associations, etc. operate in the financial markets, traditionally engaged in banking operations, but outside the control of central banks and not regulated by them. As a result, the higher the level of development and diversification of financial markets, the lower the effectiveness of the central bank's actions.