The War and Our Financial Fabric

I have endeavoured to argue that our banking system and a purely credit system are not identical. A perfect credit system would be based entirely on faith, or profound belief in individual and national integrity and honour. Tradesmen know what kind of credit this is. They know that men may have huge and safe balances in banks, yet may be rogues. But a bank's faith is not of this implicit and profound character. A bank demands material evidence of faith, and it places greater value and trust in the matter than in the spirit. Our banking system is ahead of the banking systems of other countries, but this is largely because our economic organism is older, our national character stronger, our freedom greater. Our so-called bank credit rests primarily on national wealth and secondarily on character. A bank will not lend on character alone. Character is not the wealth it is ready to transform.

It will not lend to the poor man, however noble in character. But it will lend to the rogue who has sound security and other solid wealth. If it can have no faith in the rogue's character, it has faith in his wealth, and it takes care to have his wealth first. Banks, therefore, are not judges of morals. A man's private morals are not their concern, only his wealth. They desire to know nothing of a borrower's private virtues or vices, they are only concerned about his financial or business standing.