Activity of settlement departments at the State Bank of Russia (1898—1917)

Abstract

The paper examines clearing operations of settlement departments operating at the State Bank of the Russian Empire. The problem of clearing as a form of non­cash interbank settlement became extremely acute for the participants of the money market in the late 19th — early 20th century. The industrial achievements of Russia caused a significant increase in cash flows, which complicated the cash operations of not only of banking institutions, but also of economic entities of the country. This state of affairs demanded the speedy introduction of cashless payments in the banking sector of the Empire. It is noteworthy that at the end of the XIX century this problem began to be widely discussed in the Russian press and scientific circles. V. T. Sudeikin was one of the active supporters of the establishment of clearing houses in Russia. The Russian Ministry of Finance was sympathetic to the needs of the banking community, instructing the Governor of the State Bank, E. D. Pleske, to organize the preparation of a draft of Russian clearing houses. As a result of work on the aforementioned project, it was decided in 1898 to establish the first settlement institution at the St. Petersburg office of the State Bank. In subsequent years, such institutions were opened in numerous cities of the Empire. In 1914, there were settlement chambers in 45 Russian cities. The sum of their settlement operations exceeded 40 billion rubles, 80% of which were in St. Petersburg and Moscow.