Others can take this thread more seriously and respond competently and in  
full.  I will however respond to James Ahiakpor's question -- "From where  
do banks get their finance?" with a suggestion that Kindleberger's  
-Financial History of Western Europe- provides one very good  
and full explanation.  HES doesn't seem to me the appropriate place to lay  
out the story of the development of fractional reserve banking. 
 
Anne Mayhew 
1101 McClung Tower 
University of Tennessee 
Knoxville, TN 37996-0411 
PH: 615-974-1689; FAX: 615-974-3915; E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]