The law ensuring of the activities of the accounting and loan committees at the branches of the State Bank of the Russian Empire in the post-reform period (On the materials of the charter of the State Bank of 1860)

Abstract

This article is devoted to the law ensuring of the activities of the accounting and loan committees at the branches of the State Bank of the Russian Empire in the post-reform period. On May 31 (old style) (June 12 new style), 1860, Emperor Alexander II signed a decree establishing the State Bank of the Russian Empire. At the same time, the charter of the State Bank was adopted. 13 articles of the charter were devoted to the activities of the accounting and loan committees at local branches of the State Bank. The authors cite extracts from these articles of the charter that regulate the activities of the committees and attempt to analyse them. The provisions of the articles of the charter of the State Bank are confirmed by examples from the documents of the State Archives of Ivanovo and Vladimir regions. A study of the articles of the charter showed that industrialists and merchants – representatives of the merchant class of the region of the branch – were approved as the members of the committees at the local branches of the State Bank. Industrialists and traders, who worked as members of the committee at the branch of the State Bank, informed the bank about the state of various branches of trade and industry, they gave recommendations on the issuance of a loan by the bank and they were guarantors of the loan repayment to the bank. For their useful activities for the committee's affairs, the State Bank awarded them with honorary awards, recognising their merits in the public activities of the city. At the end of the article, the authors conclude that the accounting and loan committees at the branches of the State Bank were created and functioned on the basis of the institution of public-private partnership.