Late 18th and 19th Centuries
In the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, spurred at first by financing required for the Napoleonic wars and then by the expansion of railroads, banks evolved for the first time to operate by way of commerce, that is to accept demand deposits and provide business loans, instead of only functioning for the good of the state. Before 1776 there were only three commercial banks on the landmass known then as America. During this period a large number of comercial banks were established in a number of different countries. This included banks such as the Commercial Bank of Scotland which was founded in 1810 and the Bank of New South Wales which was dated to 1817.
Jews were founders and leaders of many of the important early European banks, as well as significant banks in the United States. Several Jewish bankers became extremely influential, successfully competing with non-Jewish banking houses in the floating of government loans.
Read more about this topic: History Of Banking
Famous quotes containing the words late and/or centuries:
“Or seen the furrows shine but late upturned,
And where the fieldfare followed in the rear,
When all the fields around lay bound and hoar
Beneath a thick integument of snow.
So by God’s cheap economy made rich
To go upon my winter’s task again.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“In the two centuries that have passed since 1776, millions upon millions of Americans have worked and taken up arms, when necessary, to make [the American] dream a reality. We can be proud of what they have accomplished. Today, we are the world’s oldest republic. We are at peace. Our nation and our way of life endure. And we are free.”
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)