An Early Anglo-American Financial Transaction

The institutions and techniques for aiding the flow of capital and credit have had a long history. But it is a history which is not well known, especially in its earlier stages. In America the business of dealing in credit was at first chiefly in the hands of merchants, and, immediately after independence was established, chartered commercial banks took up the work. Some of the larger banks served as financial wholesalers, mobilizing credit and loaning it to small banks which were essentially retailers.