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The Origination and Distribution of Money Market Instruments: Sterling Bills of Exchange during the First Globalization

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  • Olivier Accominotti

    (LSE)

  • Delio Lucena-Piquero

    (LEREPS)

  • Stefano Ugolini

    (LEREPS)

Abstract

This paper presents a detailed analysis of how liquid money market instruments -- sterling bills of exchange -- were produced during the first globalisation. We rely on a unique data set that reports systematic information on all 23,493 bills re-discounted by the Bank of England in the year 1906. Using descriptive statistics and network analysis, we reconstruct the complete network of linkages between agents involved in the origination and distribution of these bills. Our analysis reveals the truly global dimension of the London bill market before the First World War and underscores the crucial role played by London intermediaries (acceptors and discounters) in overcoming information asymmetries between borrowers and lenders on this market. The complex industrial organisation of the London money market ensured that risky private debts could be transformed into extremely liquid and safe monetary instruments traded throughout the global financial system.

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  • Olivier Accominotti & Delio Lucena-Piquero & Stefano Ugolini, 2021. "The Origination and Distribution of Money Market Instruments: Sterling Bills of Exchange during the First Globalization," Papers 2103.01558, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2103.01558
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    Cited by:

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    2. Clemens Jobst & Kilian Rieder, 2023. "Supervision without regulation: Discount limits at the Austro–Hungarian Bank, 1909–13," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(4), pages 1074-1109, November.
    3. Accominotti, Olivier & Lucena-Piquero, Delio & Ugolini, Stefano, 2023. "Intermediaries’ substitutability and financial network resilience: A hyperstructure approach," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    4. Nadia Matringe, 2022. "Early inventory management practices in the foreign exchange market: Insights from sixteenth‐century Lyon," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 739-778, August.
    5. Michael D. Bordo & William Roberds, 2024. "Central Bank Digital Currencies: An Old Tale with a New Chapter," Working Papers 323, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    6. Gorton, Gary, 2024. "Inland Bills of Exchange: Private Money Production without Banks+," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    7. Charles M. Kahn & Stephen F. Quinn & William Roberds, 2023. "The Fed and Its Shadow: A Historical View," Policy Hub, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 2023(6), pages 1-32, October.
    8. Carolyn Sissoko, 2022. "Becoming a central bank: The development of the Bank of England's private sector lending policies during the Restriction," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(2), pages 601-632, May.

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    JEL classification:

    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation
    • N20 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - General, International, or Comparative

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