11,178 | current accounts, with power of discount. | |
4,576 | simple current accounts. | |
26,709 | current accounts, with advances. | |
| 24,106 | accounts, deposits. |
Total | 66,569 | accounts, against 59,182 at the end of 1903. |
At the present time the Bank of France operates chiefly through its enormous note circulation (averaging in 1906 £186,300,000), by means of which most business transactions in France are carried on.
The limits of the circulation of the Bank of France and the dates when it has been extended are as follows:—
| Dates |
Millions of Francs |
Converting the Franc as 25 = £1. |
| 15th March 1848 | 350 | £14,000,000 |
| 27th April, 2nd May 1848 | 452 | 18,000,000 |
| 2nd December 1849 | 525 | 21,000,000 |
| 12th August 1870 | 1800 | 32,000,000 |
| 14th August 1870 | 2400 | 96,000,000 |
| 29th December 1871 | 2800 | 112,000,000 |
| 15th July 1872 | 3200 | 128,000,000 |
| 30th January 1884 | 3500 | 140,000,000 |
| 25th January 1893 | 4000 | 160,000,000 |
| 17th December 1897 | 5000 | 200,000,000 |
| In 1906 | 5800 | 232,000,000 |
Most business transactions in France are liquidated, not in cheques as in England, but in notes of the Bank of France. These, owing to their convenience, are preferred to specie. This is accumulated in the vaults of the Bank of France, which in 1906 held on average £115,000,000 gold and £42,000,000 silver. The gold held by the Bank of France is generally considerably larger in amount than that held by the Bank of England, which in the autumn of 1890 had to borrow £3,000,000 in gold from the Bank of France at the time of the Baring crisis. The large specie reserve of the bank has given stability to the trade of France, and has enabled the bank to manage its business without the numerous fluctuations in the rate of discount which are constantly occurring in England. It is true that the holding this very large amount of specie imposes a very heavy burden on the shoulders of the shareholders of the bank, but they do not complain. The advantage to business from the low rate of interest which has to be paid for the use of borrowed capital in France is a great advantage to the trade and industry of that country.
The mass of the reserve in France is so great that the movements of the precious metals, when they are the result only of natural causes, are allowed to go on without corresponding movements in the discount rate. But it must be remembered that this large reserve is held in part against a gigantic note issue, and also that the trade activity and enterprise of the French people are less intense than in either the United Kingdom or Germany; thus it is much easier for the Bank of France to maintain a steady rate of discount.
Besides the Bank of France, several great credit institutions carry on business in the country; as the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (capital and reserve, £3,729,000; other liabilities, deposits, &c., £14,842,000), the Banque Française pour le Commerce et l'Industrie (£2,450,000; and £3,505,000), the Crédit Lyonnais (£14,000,000; and £82,570,000), the Comptoir National d'Escompte de Paris (£6,772,000; and £47,593,000), the Société Générale pour favoriser le développement du Commerce et de l'Industrie en France (£7,469,000; and £45,800,000), and the Société Générale de Crédit Industriel et Commercial (£1,600,000; and £10,060,000).
There is also the Crédit Foncier de France with a very considerable capital, but the business done is so largely that of mortgages that it can hardly be included among banks, though it carries on in some measure the business of banking.
Besides the six important joint-stock banks mentioned above, there exists in France a large number of banks, principally in the provinces, carrying on a very considerable business. Little is known as to their deposits, but their business appears to be conducted with great prudence and discretion. One hundred and eighty-two of these firms were members of the French Country Bankers' Association in 1898. They carry on business in 66 out of the 86 departments into which France is divided. More than one of these banks has several offices—one possessing 18, including the head office. These branches are situated in the small towns in the vicinity. In this the business follows more the English method of small branches. The French Country Bankers' Association holds its meetings in Paris, where matters of interest to bankers are discussed. (See Bankers' Magazine, July 1898.)