Short History of Central Banks- From Bank of England (BOE) to Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
Short History of Central Banks- From Bank of England (BOE) to Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
By Matthias Chang – Future Fast-Forward
“Give me control of a nation’s currency and I care not who runs the government.” [Who said this?]
Only a handful of Malaysians know about the history of BIS, the global Central Banks’ Central Bank. The real power (as always) is hidden and so we must understand the immense power of BIS.
Whosoever controls BIS, controls the global payment system and more, so much more!
Firstly, What You Need To Know About Bank of England (BOE)
Extracts from BOE Museum:
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In the 17th century, early banking business was carried out by people known as the goldsmiths. They looked after and lent gold and silver to wealthy people, but they also charged really high interest rates. It was perfectly normal for the goldsmiths to charge interest rates between 20 and 30%. However, in 1672, Charles II decided to borrow loads of money from the goldsmiths to keep him in the extravagant lifestyle he’d become accustomed to, but then decided that because he was King, he didn’t need to pay it back. So he wrote a letter to the goldsmiths with words to the effect of:
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“Gentlemen, I’m an honest man but unfortunately I am unable to pay my debts back on this occasion. Sorry – will see what I can do.”
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As a result, goldsmith businesses collapsed and confidence in the sector dissolved. Any goldsmiths who didn’t go under were, understandably, very reluctant to lend to monarchs after that.
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In 1693, William III was desperately trying to raise funds for wars against France. He went to the remaining goldsmiths to see if any of them would fund him. They all said no, so William had to come up with a new way of raising the money. The King discussed a number of ideas from the government, wealthy merchants and noblemen. But one of these came out on top. William Paterson, a Scottish merchant suggested that members of the public could lend £1.2 million to the government. People who signed up to this scheme effectively became shareholders in a new joint-stock company.
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The company was called ‘The Governor and the Company of the Bank of England’. People invested in it by purchasing ‘bank stock’ and the government paid them 8% interest. It was a good deal for the government as goldsmiths charged lending rates of more than twice that amount! The £1.2 million target was raised in just 11 days by 1,268 members of the public from all walks of life. And we were formally established by Royal Charter on 27 July 1694.
Continue reading from the PDF below. Share widely, as you do not have the Financial Intel I am giving you.
