Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Genealogy of leading Japanese banks, 1859–1959
- List of abbreviations
- Map
- Part I A bankrupt Shogunate, 1859–1868
- Part II The Meiji Restoration: monetary confusion and banking experiments, 1868–1881
- Part III Matsukata, the wizard of Japanese banking, 1881–1897; the Yokohama Specie Bank (1880) and the Bank of Japan (1882)
- Part IV The Japanese on the London money market, 1897–1911
- Part V War, the Japanese boom years, 1911–1919
- Historical background
- 17 Bank of Japan money supply, 1911–1919
- 18 The expansion of special banking, 1911–1919
- 19 Ordinary and savings banks, the search for strength, 1911–1919
- 20 Other financial sectors in the boom years, 1911–1919
- Part VI Crisis and the road to war, 1919–1937
- Part VII Complete commitment, struggle and defeat, 1937–1945
- Part VIII American ‘democratisation’ and the search for growth, 1945–1959
- An extraordinary century, 1859–1959
- Appendices
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
19 - Ordinary and savings banks, the search for strength, 1911–1919
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Genealogy of leading Japanese banks, 1859–1959
- List of abbreviations
- Map
- Part I A bankrupt Shogunate, 1859–1868
- Part II The Meiji Restoration: monetary confusion and banking experiments, 1868–1881
- Part III Matsukata, the wizard of Japanese banking, 1881–1897; the Yokohama Specie Bank (1880) and the Bank of Japan (1882)
- Part IV The Japanese on the London money market, 1897–1911
- Part V War, the Japanese boom years, 1911–1919
- Historical background
- 17 Bank of Japan money supply, 1911–1919
- 18 The expansion of special banking, 1911–1919
- 19 Ordinary and savings banks, the search for strength, 1911–1919
- 20 Other financial sectors in the boom years, 1911–1919
- Part VI Crisis and the road to war, 1919–1937
- Part VII Complete commitment, struggle and defeat, 1937–1945
- Part VIII American ‘democratisation’ and the search for growth, 1945–1959
- An extraordinary century, 1859–1959
- Appendices
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Ordinary versus savings banking: amalgamation, Big Five and overseas business, 1911–1919
Between 1911 and 1919, the number of ordinary banks dropped from 1,613 to 1,340 while savings banks increased in number from 478 to 656. These changes resulted from the revisions in the Savings Bank Decree in 1915 and the Bank Decree in 1916 when the Finance Ministry reinstated the banking department, previously in existence between 1880 and 1891, the main purpose of which was to carry out inspections. This move by the Finance Ministry became ever more urgent because the banking system in Japan was burdened by many small and therefore fragile institutions. However, despite the reinstatement of the banking department, the Finance Ministry failed to institute effective inspections which would have eliminated the malpractices and irregularities of dubious banks. Perhaps the large number of banks discouraged the Ministry? Indeed, from 1916 to 1919, only 131 ordinary and 98 savings banks were inspected by the Ministry, though nearly all special banks were examined. The Ministry clearly preferred supervision to inspections. This attitude of the Finance Ministry was to lead inevitably to a disaster, as will shortly be disclosed.
Revisions in the Savings Bank Decree in 1915 enabled the Finance Ministry to keep tighter control and allowed them to impose punishment for mismanagement on the directors of savings banks. At the same time the revised stipulations allowed the banks to accept wider varieties of savings. The relaxation of savings acceptance made it easier for smaller banks to enter the savings banking sector, thus increasing the number.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Japanese BankingA History, 1859–1959, pp. 126 - 133Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1995