What is a savings bank? In what year did the first savings bank appear?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Today, the phrase "savings bank" is no longer widely used, and we don't even think that the country's leading bank - Sberbank - grew out of this phenomenon. Where did this financial phenomenon come from and how does it work? In the article, we will talk about the year in which the savings bank appeared, who was the first to come up with this mechanism, and how the savings banks evolved into modern credit institutions.

The concept of savings

As soon as a person had a surplus of material values, he began to think about saving them for future use. Thus, the idea of savings was born. At first, this process extended only to food - it was always common for people to stock up on food in case of famine. This is an absolutely instinctive activity, since our body stores excess calories in fat folds, and a person, like a protein, for example, makes reservesfor future use.

But the concept of savings is connected precisely with the preservation of money. For the first time, it occurred to people to save money for the future several tens of hundreds of years ago. For example, in China, there was a tradition to set aside coins for a "rainy day" in clay sealed pots. It was possible to extract money from there only by breaking the vessel. For many centuries, people simply saved money, they did not bring any income, and only when the idea arose that these savings could be put into circulation, the savings bank appeared.

Savings bank concept

Gradually, a special financial mechanism took shape, which made it possible to create savings and at the same time receive income from them. A savings bank is an organization that attracts them from the population and pays interest to depositors. The opportunity to increase capital is provided by the issuance of savings for temporary use to those who wish (credit), for which they, in turn, pay the cashier.

Today, savings banks and banks are an important part of the economy of any state. There are even indicators of savings rates by the population, which ensure the stability of the economic system. Also, the volume of saved capital is a good criterion for assessing the general situation in the state. Because people start saving only when they have enough.

Principles of functioning of the savings bank

There is already a traditional way of accumulating funds for subsequent consumption by the population - thissavings Bank. People's deposits bring them income, which is the main motivating factor in applying to a financial institution to create their own reserve funds, and not putting coins in a glass jar in a home closet. But where does this profit come from?

There are two mechanisms that can be used to pay people interest. The first is known as a financial pyramid: investors receive interest from newly attracted customers who have brought their money. Such a scheme has a high risk of failure, since any mass withdrawal of deposits leads to collapse, and some clients will not receive not only interest, but also the deposited money.

And the second mechanism is more complicated. It implies that money, in order for it to generate income, can be loaned for interest or invested in some other profitable mechanisms. Savings banks mainly operate according to the "deposit-loan-interest" scheme, without engaging in investments.

The history of the emergence of savings banks in the world

For the first time, the principle of the financial savings mechanism was formulated by the writer D. Defoe, who was thinking about how to develop the foresight of the population. Based on his ideas, in 1778 in Hamburg, a local entrepreneur opened an office accepting cash deposits at 3%, which could be returned at the first request of the depositor. But then the idea received only a local implementation.

The boom of savings banks begins in England at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. Then came the first savingscash desk, which guaranteed the return of investments and the receipt of interest. In 1817, the first British law on such financial institutions was passed. They were instructed to place the attracted money only in reliable funds and government bonds. Thus began the interaction between the savings banks and the state economy. She received additional funds and motivated the population to create savings.

Initially, savings banks were designed for the lowest income groups of the population. Therefore, the maximum deposit amount was set at 150 pounds. This allowed the poor to create a financial "airbag" for an unforeseen event, which was also beneficial to the state and big capitalists, because it relieved them of the need to care for the poor, who lost their jobs or fell ill. From the beginning of the 19th century, savings banks began to appear in many European countries and in the USA.

First savings banks in Russia

This boom did not bypass the Russian Empire either. The first savings bank in our country appeared in 1839 by decree of the emperor. These were savings and auxiliary banks for peasants - this is how the state began preparations for the abolition of serfdom.

In 1841, at the behest of the Tsar, the first city savings banks were opened again in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At first, the minimum deposit was 50 kopecks, and the maximum - 300 rubles, later these figures were increased. The first such institutions were created at enterprises and stateservices, and since 1880 they began to open cash desks at branches of the state bank, at post offices and railway stations.

In addition to demand deposits, "conditional" deposits were accepted here. on special, certain conditions, as well as deposits in securities. Employees of cash desks, thus, acted as an intermediary between citizens and the state. Later, a life insurance service appeared. Since the end of the 19th century, cash desks have also become a tool for the sale of government bonds, as well as for holding winning loans. Gradually, cash desks became a multifunctional loan and credit institution.

Soviet-era savings banks

After the coup in 1917, the new government first declared the deposits of the population inviolable and royal loans - annulled. Gradually, inflation led to the actual depreciation of deposits. After the First World War and the Civil War, a new economic policy was announced, and a new financial instrument appeared - the savings bank of the USSR.

These institutions were the vehicle for financial reform, their main task was to protect the wages of workers in times of inflation. Over time, they were also entrusted with the functions of insurance of the population. In 1925, the government established the state labor savings banks of the USSR. They provided for various types of deposits, government loans and the sale of winning bonds were carried out through them.

By 1933 more than50 thousand savings banks. During the Second World War, the government froze the deposits of the population, and this money became a significant help in ensuring the defense of the state. After the war, a monetary reform and modernization of savings banks were carried out. Later, the state actively used the possibilities of these institutions for internal loans from the population.

Since the economic situation in the USSR in the 60-70s was specific: the population had money, but there was often nothing to spend it on, the authorities encouraged people to invest in government bonds and to form savings accounts. It was then that such a popular slogan appeared: “Keep money in a savings bank!”. With the change in the economic course in the 90s, there was an actual freezing and partial annulment of the deposits of the population. The state still pays meager compensation to some segments of the population. So far, the end of this procedure is not in sight.

Savings banks today

Today, in many countries, such a financial phenomenon as the state savings bank continues to exist. These institutions are aimed at attracting small deposits from the population. But still, cash desks are a very small part of the modern financial system of developed economies. So, in Italy, for example, there are only 87 savings banks, in the USA they account for only a few percent of the country's total financial turnover. Such a decrease in these institutions was a consequence of the development of the global banking system.

Savings banks and their specifics

Over time, in many states savings banks were turned into savings banks. What does this mean for the average consumer? These institutions provide more services. Here you can not only open different types of deposits, but also take a loan for any needs, solve investment problems, conduct transactions with currencies and other valuable assets.

Banks conduct cash transactions, offer insurance programs. Today, the concept of "savings bank" is increasingly approaching the concept of "commercial bank". The difference mainly remains only in the founders - most often in savings banks one of the leading founders is the state.

Sberbank of Russia

At one time in the USSR, the main financial slogan, as we have already mentioned, was the phrase: "Keep money in a savings bank." This slogan is used by Sberbank of the Russian Federation, and not without reason. In 1988, the state labor savings banks were reorganized and turned into the Savings Bank (Sberbank). And until now, people have a strong feeling that this is a state-owned bank, although in the 90s it became a joint-stock company with the involvement of private capital. But the state retains its share in the authorized capital of Sberbank and actively supports it, forming its positioning as the country's main bank.

Types of savings bank operations

Initially, any central savings bank accepted deposits from the population underinterest on demand, then came fixed-term deposits and the sale of bonds. Today, savings banks also offer settlement and cash services, currency exchange, deposit services, as well as lending and investment. In addition, Sberbank offers cash collection services, work with securities and other assets, deposit insurance, life and property insurance.

Savings bank functions

The most important function performed by the savings bank was to raise funds from the population. In this sense, savings banks continue this tradition - they are the main tool for mobilizing savings and incorporating them into the country's real economy.

These financial institutions are an important part of the economy, as they provide the movement of capital, and also stimulate the population to create savings, which also plays a significant role in the financial system of the state.