1st Edition
A History of Public Banking in Portugal in the 19th and 20th Centuries
This book examines the history of what became one of Portugal’s largest banks, the Caixa Geral de Depósitos. The bank was founded in 1876 by the state to run public deposits, and evolved into a savings bank, catering for both public and private deposits. Its history goes beyond the history of banking, as it ties in with the role of the state in the banking sector and financial markets.
The book weaves in and out of different political and international contexts, following the many changes of the Portuguese political regime and of its interactions with the national and international economy. The most important lesson from the study is that publicly owned institutions can compete successfully with the private sector when they simultaneously cater for the interests of policy makers as well as those of the public, in this case, the depositors. The history of the Caixa Geral de Depósitos therefore shows how the state of a peripheral economy is capable of successfully managing a large financial institution when the right set of incentives is in place.
This work will be a valuable resource for researchers and students of financial and economic history at both the advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels. It will also provide interesting insights for practitioners in the financial sector.
Introduction
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: The rise of public finance, 1820-1870
The Bank of Lisbon and the Public Credit Board, 1821-1846
The 1846 financial and the foundation of Bank of Portugal
1853: the new financial order
Chapter 2: Financial boom and crisis, 1870-1876
The liquidity boom, 1870-1876
The 1876 crisis
The Public Credit Board reformed once more
Chapter 3: The establishment of Caixa Geral de Depósitos, 1876-1880
The Parliamentary debate
The commencement
How it worked
Chapter 4: The establishment of Caixa Económica Portuguesa, 1880-1886
The debate on the public savings bank
The plan for the establishment of Caixa Económica Portuguesa
The wider financial reforms, 1885-1886
Chapter 5: The financial reform, 1886-1890
The progressive financial revolution
A new statue for the Bank of Portugal
Government control
Chapter 6: The financial crisis, 1890-1892
How it started
The radical solution
The progressives once more
Chapter 7: Back to the old order, 1892-1910
The return of the regeneradores
The 1896 reform
Chapter 8: The Republic, 1910-1926
The new political regime
The impact on Caixa
The second Republican reform
Chapter 9: The new order, 1926-1929
Before Salazar
Salazar as Finance Minister
Beyond public bonds
The 1929 reform
The politics of regime change at Caixa
Chapter 10: The consolidation of the Estado Novo, 1929-1935
Financial stability
Credit to the economy
Social housing and urban improvements
Caixa and the Empire
Chapter 11: Public investment, 1935-1950
The new state and the economy
The second World War
After the War
Chapter 12: Between the state and the market, 1950-1968
Financial concerns
The development plans
Housing
The new banking framework
Chapter 13: Staying behind, 1968-1974
The technocratic dictator
The public company
Hard times
Chapter 14: The nationalizations and beyond, 1974-1992
Regime change and the banking sector
Remittances and construction
Normalization
The Caixa and the government
The acquisition of Banco Nacional Ultramarino
Chapter 15: Coping with the monetary union, 1992-2010
The fragile internationalization
The Iberian ambition
Following the language
Conclusion
References
Index
Biography
Pedro Lains (Lisbon, December 1959 – May 2021) was Research Professor at the Instituto de Ciências Sociais, University of Lisbon. His main research interests were Portuguese and European economic history. He has published many books and journal articles in these fields, including a forthcoming edited volume on The Economic History of the Iberian Peninsula, 711–2000.
