Municipal public bank as a component of life the Ukrainian city in the late 19th – early 20th century

Abstract

The emergence of financial institutions such as municipal public banks had a significant positive impact on the socio-economic development of cities. The purpose of the study is to analyze the impact of municipal public banks on economic and social development of cities, as well as on the development of urban infrastructure during the second half of 19th – early 20th century. The research methodology is based on the principle of historicism, application of general scientific and special scientific methods, in particular analysis of the information potential of statistical and information resources of the Central Statistical Committee of 1866–1918, provincial and zemstvo statistics. The main stages of the government's policy concerning the activities of these banks and its impact on the level of development of the latter are highlighted. The network of municipal public banks in the Ukrainian provinces of the late 19th – beginning of the 20th century was reconstructed. Since their inception, municipal public banks contributed to urban development in several areas, such as increasing the financial capacity of the local population and the capacity of the city government. The top of the city administration joined the ranks of bank management and supervisory boards for their activities. Banks were becoming one of the most active city patrons. The main problem in the development of municipal banks was to determine the relationship between government regulation and the independence of bank boards. This trend can be traced in the banking legislation of the last third of the 20th century.