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The sterling trap: foreign reserves management at the Bank of France, 1928–1936

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  • ACCOMINOTTI, OLIVIER

Abstract

French reserves policy during the interwar years has been heavily criticised because of its consequences for other countries. This article presents new monthly data on the Bank of France's foreign reserves currency composition between 1928 and 1936, and identifies the motivations behind reserves policy. The Bank of France's aim was to limit the risk of capital loss on its foreign portfolio. The determining factor in its portfolio allocation decisions was the credibility of reserves currencies on the exchange market. Credibility issues explain both the sale of pounds against dollars during 1929 and 1930 and the massive conversion of foreign holdings into gold from 1931 on. However, due to the huge volume of its reserves, the Bank also had to consider the effects of its own actions on the market. Its cooperative attitude towards sterling in the months before British devaluation can be explained through its market position. The Bank of France's portfolio choice was that of a large player in a low-credibility international monetary system.

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  • Accominotti, Olivier, 2009. "The sterling trap: foreign reserves management at the Bank of France, 1928–1936," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 349-376, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:ereveh:v:13:y:2009:i:03:p:349-376_99
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    Cited by:

    1. Accominotti, Olivier, 2012. "London Merchant Banks, the Central European Panic, and the Sterling Crisis of 1931," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-43, March.
    2. Bordo, Michael D. & Meissner, Christopher M., 2023. "Original sin and the great depression," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Barry Eichengreen & Marc Flandreau, 2008. "The Rise and Fall of the Dollar, or When Did the Dollar Replace Sterling as the Leading International Currency?," NBER Working Papers 14154, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Patrice Baubeau & Eric Monnet & Angelo Riva & Stefano Ungaro, 2021. "Flight‐to‐safety and the credit crunch: a new history of the banking crises in France during the Great Depression," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(1), pages 223-250, February.
    5. Stefano Ugolini, 2018. "The Historical Evolution of Central Banking," Post-Print hal-01887004, HAL.
    6. Mitchener, Kris James & Monnet, Eric, 2023. "Connected Lending of Last Resort," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 651, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. John Singleton & Catherine R. Schenk, 2015. "The shift from sterling to the dollar, 1965–76: evidence from Australia and New Zealand," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 68(4), pages 1154-1176, November.
    8. Eichengreen, Barry & Flandreau, Marc, 2009. "The rise and fall of the dollar (or when did the dollar replace sterling as the leading reserve currency?)," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(3), pages 377-411, December.
    9. Fratianni, Michele & Giri, Federico, 2017. "The tale of two great crises," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 5-31.
    10. Colvin, Christopher L., 2015. "The past, present and future of banking history," QUCEH Working Paper Series 15-05, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    11. Andreas Steiner, 2013. "A Tale of Two Deficits: Public Budget Balance of Reserve Currency Countries," IEER Working Papers 97, Institute of Empirical Economic Research, Osnabrueck University.
    12. Maylis Avaro, 2020. "Zombie International Currency: The Pound Sterling 1945-1973," IHEID Working Papers 03-2020, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies, revised 27 Apr 2021.
    13. De Bromhead, Alan & Jordan, David & Kennedy, Francis & Seddon, Jack, 2021. "How does international monetary leadership end? The Sterling Area revisited," QUCEH Working Paper Series 21-02, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    14. Alan de Bromhead & David Jordan & Francis Kennedy & Jack Seddon, 2023. "Sterling's farewell symphony: The end of the Sterling Area revisited," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(2), pages 415-444, May.
    15. Karau, Sören, 2020. "Buried in the vaults of central banks: Monetary gold hoarding and the slide into the Great Depression," Discussion Papers 63/2020, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    16. Douglas A. Irwin, 2010. "Did France Cause the Great Depression?," NBER Working Papers 16350, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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