GIPE-PUNE-OIIOI2 - DSpace@GIPE

AND THE BANQUE DE FRANCE 75
or indirect, in industry or' trade. Promotinginclustrial
,projects and financing comme~cialconcerns or ",under'"
writing" them belong to this class of operations.
The French banks are as a rule very cautious or
rather timid in this direction. They try. to keep as closely
as possible to their normal functions. The German
banks, on the other hand, venture ,to participate boldly
in . industrial and commercial establishments. In France
.such operations are considered to be proper only to such
institutions as are founded especially with this object and
,are accordingly furnished with adequate capital for the
purpose. 'The risks attendant upon "industrial and
colonial" enterprises are regarded as too great for banks
nurtured on the deposits of clients of all categories. For,
the special feature of such transactions consists in the
tying down of capital. And this an ordinary bank can
hardly afford.
To the extent that German banks undertake with~
out distinction the financing of industry and commerce
:they place themselves in difficult and dangerous
situations. Their risks can, therefore, be scarcely anti~
cipated and controlled by the Reichsbank. But in France
certain banks specialize in industrial and colonial
-operations and necessarily also in the corresponding risks.
It is consequently possible for the Banque de France to
localize the possibilities of danger or sources of difficulty;
From all these considerations it might be suspected if the
Reichsbank can be described as the real centre of the
German banking system ju;t as the Banque de France is
in the French.
But on the other hand it need be observed
that the Reichsbank's rate of discount is by