"Иностранный язык" (английский язык) для экономистов

    Since the 17th century Great Britain has been known for its prominence in banking. London still remains a major financial center, and virtually all the world's leading commercial banks are represented there.

     Aside from the Bank of England, which was incorporated, early English banks were privately owned rather than stock-issuing firms. Bank failures were common; so in the early 19th century, joint-stock banks, with a larger capital base, were encouraged as a means of stabilizing the industry. By 1833 these corporate banks were permitted to accept and transfer deposits in London, although they were prohibited from issuing banknotes, a monopoly prerogative of the Bank of England. Corporate banking flourished after legislation in 1858 approved limited liability for joint-stock companies. The banking system, however, failed to preserve the large number of institutions typical of U.S. banking. At the turn of this century, a wave of bank mergers reduced both the number of private and joint stock banks.

     The present structure of British commercial banking was substantially in place by the 1930s, with the Bank of England, then privately owned, at the apex, and 11 London clearing banks ranked below. Two changes have occurred since then: The Bank of England was nationalized in 1946 by the postwar Labor government; and in 1968 a merger among the largest five clearing banks left the industry in the hands of four (Barclays, Lloyds, Midland, and National Westminster).

     The larger clearing banks, with their national branch networks, dominate British banking. They are the key links in the transfer of business payments through the checking system, as well as the primary source of short-term business finance. Moreover, through their ownership and control over subsidiaries, the big British banks influence other financial markets dealing with consumer and housing finance, commercial banking, factoring, and leasing. The dominance of the clearing banks was challenged in recent years by the rise of “parallel markets,” surrounding financial activities by smaller banking houses, building societies (similar to SLAs in the United States), and other financial concerns, as well as local government authorities. The major banks responded to this competition by offering new services and competitive terms.

     A restructuring in the banking industry took place in the late 1970s. The Banking Act of 1979 formalized Bank of England control over the British banking system, previously supervised on an informal basis. Only institutions approved by the Bank of England as “recognized banks” or “licensed deposit-taking institutions” are permitted to accept deposits from the public. The act also extended Bank of England control over the new financial intermediaries that have flourished since 1960.

     London has become the center of the Eurodollar market; participants include financial institutions from all over the world. This market, which began in the late 1950s and grew in some 25 years to an estimated volume of $1 trillion, borrows and lends dollars and other currencies outside the currency's home country (for example, franc accounts held in any country other than France).