In the early 1800s, the United States government did not print paper money but instead minted gold and silver coins called specie. The value of these coins was determined by the value of the metal in the coins themselves. People wanted a safe place to keep their savings of gold and silver coins, so they stored them in banks, which had strong vaults and other measures of security. The bank would give the depositor a receipt, or banknote, as a claim against the gold or silver that had been deposited. When depositors wanted to withdraw money, they would take the banknote to the bank and exchange it for coins. People did not always have to withdraw their money to make purchases, because often sellers would accept the banknotes as payment. Thus banknotes circulated from hand to hand while the gold and silver that backed them, or guaranteed their value, remained in the bank.
Banks often accumulated very large deposits of gold and silver from many individual depositors. Since most of this gold and silver never left the vault, banks would loan out a portion of it for a fee in interest, defraying their costs for operating the bank, while making a profit for themselves. When a bank made a loan it generally issued banknotes, again redeemable for coin, to the borrower. Consequently, a bank would have not only the original depositor’s receipts circulating as money but also the banknotes it had loaned, resulting in more banknotes circulating than it had coins to cover them. Of course, the bank would be holding valuable interest-bearing debts in the form of loans and mortgages, but these were payable in the future, often over many years, while the bank was obligated to redeem its banknotes for coin money on demand.
If the slow and steady income from loans and mortgages no longer satisfied those holding notes, then the bank could become bankrupt. In the ensuing legal troubles many people might lose their savings and the bank’s notes would become worthless, which could be a serious economic blow to both individuals and communities. Therefore, it was very important for banks to keep the public confidence in order to avoid a “run” on the bank where many worried holders of the bank’s notes might try to withdraw their coins all at once.
A conservative loan policy was the best long-range tool not only to keep the public confidence, but also to foster safe development of the economy. There were many pressures on a bank to loan more than it should, however. The biggest pressure was the potential for profit. In theory, the more a bank loaned, the more interest it was owed and the more money it made. But again, this depended on people not removing their coins from the bank. An additional pressure on banks in the early nineteenth century was the great need for capital to expand industry, develop the frontier, and improve such infrastructure as roads and canals. As a source for the large sums of money needed, banks played a vital role in development activities that could not have been financed by individual lenders. Loaning investment capital was a public benefit, but bankers were often pressured to make loans for the civic good that were neither wise for the bank, nor in the long run wise for the public.
For example, one banking practice that was detrimental to the economy could occur when there was a strong market for agricultural products one year. The following year, farmers would pressure banks for loans to expand their operations. In light of the previous year’s record, this would look like a good investment to a bank, which would be inclined to lend more than it normally would to farmers. If the farmers produced a heavy crop due to their improvements, their produce might exceed the demand on the open market, causing prices to drop. Farmers’ net revenue might then be no more than before the bank financed their expansion. Unfortunately, they still would have loan payments to make. This additional burden might cause them to reduce their spending and perhaps contract their operations. Some farmers could even be forced into defaulting on their loans and lose their farms, causing the bank to lose the money it loaned as well as the interest it would have made.
After several years of this process, agricultural products might become scarce and prices for them would rise. Farmers would want to cash in on the new boom with a loan for expansion, and the cycle would begin again. This same process could take place in any area of production or manufacturing. While investment capital is a good thing, excessive speculative lending has the effect of producing a roller coaster, boom-and-bust economy that is less productive for everyone than a more even-growth economy fostered by cautious lending habits.
Following the War of 1812, the United States entered an era of strong economic growth. Trade and industry flourished and grew, while at the same time the western frontier expanded with settlement and farming. These activities often required large sums for investment, a safe place to store earnings, and a regulated means to transfer money or credit from bank to bank or region to region. Banks provided all of these services.
State and federal governments also needed repositories for their funds. States, therefore, chartered banks within their territory to handle their government’s financial transactions. These state-chartered banks were not owned by the state but were privately held. Their state charter gave them certain advantages over ordinary banks but also subjected them to additional oversight by the state. They were therefore generally well-regulated, responsibly managed institutions that also provided banking services for individuals and businesses. Additionally, there were many smaller, local banks, most of which were responsible, though some were inclined to overextend credit and put their depositors’ funds at risk.
State banks regulated the credit practices of smaller banks by redeeming for gold any of the smaller banks’ notes that were passed to the state bank as a loan or mortgage payment. This practice required the smaller banks to be prepared to pay out from their deposits. They were consequently less likely to allow an excessive number of their banknotes to be in circulation. A state bank could also loan money to smaller banks to help them through a crisis if the smaller bank was financially sound, which encouraged responsible lending practices in smaller banks.