Banks and the Finance Industry

In examining nineteenth century banks, key themes include the impact that bank lending on regional and national economies; the nature of trust between banks and their customers; the structure of banks, in particular their propensity to branch; and the use of local networks in building financial institutions and assessing customer creditworthiness. The work has moved forward into the twentieth century to consider the changing nature of financial provision by banks following the amalgamation movement in Britain, starting in the 1880s and culminating in 1918 with the remained ‘Big Five’ clearing banks. In the twentieth century, intervention by governments to involve banks in promoting economic recovery and/or the provision of finance to small-scale enterprises has been considered with Professor Peter Scott.