Chapter 25 of 32 · Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market by Walter Bagehot
Note A. Liabilities and Cash Reserve of the Chief Banking Systems.
The following is a comparison of the liabilities to the public, and of the cash reserve, of the banking systems of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States. For the United Kingdom the figures are the most defective, as they only include the deposits of the Bank of England, and of the London joint stock banks, and the banking reserve of the Bank of England, which is the only cash available against these liabilities is also the only cash reserve against the similar liabilities of the London private banks, the provincial English banks, and the Scotch and Irish banks. In the case of England, therefore, the method of comparison exhibits a larger proportion of cash to liabilities than what really exists.
| (1) ENGLISH BANKING. | |
| Liabilities. | £ |
| Deposits of Bank of England, less estimated Joint Stock Bank balances, at December 31, 1872 | 29,000,000 |
| Deposits of London Joint Stock Banks at December 31, 1872 (see 'Economist,' February 8, 1873) | 91,000,000 |
| Total liabilities | 120,000,000 |
| Reserve of Cash. | £ |
| Banking Reserve in Bank of England. | 13,500,000 |
| Making proportion of cash reserve to liabilities to the public about 11.2 per cent. | |
| (2) BANK OF FRANCE (FEBRUARY, 1873). | |
| Liabilities. | £ |
| Circulation | 110,000,000 |
| Deposits | 15,000,000 |
| Total liabilities | 125,000,000 |
| Reserve of Cash. | £ |
| Coin and bullion in hand | 32,000,000 |
| Making proportion of cash reserve to liabilities to the public about 25 per cent. | |
| (3) BANKS OF GERMANY (JANUARY, 1873). | |
| Liabilities. | £ |
| Circulation | 63,000,000 |
| Deposits | 8,000,000 |
| Acceptances and Indorsements | 17,000,000 |
| Total liabilities | 88,000,000 |
| Reserve of Cash. | £ |
| Cash in Hand | 41,000,000 |
| Making proportion of cash reserve to liabilities to the public about 47 per cent. | |
| (4) NATIONAL BANKS OF UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 3, 1873). | |
| Liabilities. | £ |
| Circulation | 67,000,000 |
| Deposits | 145,000,000 |
| Total liabilities | 212,000,000 |
| Reserve of Cash. | £ |
| Coin and legal tenders in hand | 26,000,000 |
| Making proportion of cash reserve to liabilities to the public about 12.3 per cent. | |
| SUMMARY. | |||
| Liabilities to the public | Cash held | Proportion of cash to liabilities per cent | |
| £ | £ | ||
| Bank of England and London Joint Stock Banks | 120,000,000 | 13,500,000 | 11.2 |
| Bank of France | 125,000,000 | 32,000,000 | 25.0 |
| Banks of Germany | 88,000,000 | 41,000,000 | 47.0 |
| National Banks of United States | 212,000,000 | 26,000,000 | 12.3 |
Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market
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