GIPE-PUNE-OIIOI2 - DSpace@GIPE

AND THE 'BANQUE .':"DE FRANCE 7.
however, that .theBancJ'ue de 'Franc;e has maintahl~d a
~ore uniform r~~e' ~f, :dis~ciunt' througho~i: . its .. history
than either the Bankcif England. o~ the Reichsbank.
Moreover, the rates of discount have generally been low
in France compared to those in Erlgland and Germany.
The Banque' s discount rate was. almost uniformly
.stable at 3 p.c. between 1898 and 1913. 25
The exceptions may be indicatedbelow:-
Rate
Period
3.5 p.c. Dec. 1899, March 1907, Jan. 1908, Sept. 1911, Jan.
1912, Oct. 1912.
4.0. p.c. Jan. 1900, Nov. 1907, Jim. 1908, Oct. 1912, Jan.
1913.
4.5 p.c. Dec. 1899.
During the same period the Reichsbank' s discount
:rate 26 was not only in constant fluctuation but invariably
higher than the Banque's. Compared to th~ French 3 p.c.
as "typical," the "traditional" German rate may be
quoted as very often 5 p.c., oftener 4 p.c. At the Reichs­
.bank the 3 p.c. prevailed only for 51 days in 1898, 233
days in 1902 and 196 daysin 1905. The following table
.indicates realistically the actual position:
25 Courcelle-Seneuil, p. 278. In 1930-31 the rate waa 3.5%, 3% •
. 2.5%. 2% and again 2.5%. !lee Compte rendu (Paris 1932l. pp. 11-12. 27.
26 Die Reichsban1t. Tab. 47. dn Jan. I, 1931 the rate was 5%. On
August I, it rose as high as 15%. By the end of the year it was 7% and
on May I, 1932, it was 5%. (Federal Resel'lle Bulletin. May 1932. p. 327).
The rates of the Bank of England since 1848 may be seen in the
Economist (London) May 14, 1932, p. 17 (Banking Supplement).