“ 

CFIC导读：

从工商银行董事长之位卸任后，如今的姜建清有一个新的身份——中东欧金融控股有限公司董事长。生于1953年的姜建清，17岁汇入了上山下乡的洪流之中，在江西农村务农，后来又到河南一个煤矿工作了3年。1979年，姜建清正式进入银行业，边工作边学习，直至获得博士学位。在担任工商银行行长之职的16年中，姜建清带领工行完成股份制改造、上市，并且跃居全球资产规模排名第一的宇宙大行，他也被誉为世界级银行家。

”

从工商银行董事长之位卸任后，如今的姜建清有一个新的身份——中东欧金融控股有限公司董事长。生于1953年的姜建清，17岁汇入了上山下乡的洪流之中，在江西农村务农，后来又到河南一个煤矿工作了3年。1979年，姜建清正式进入银行业，边工作边学习，直至获得博士学位。在担任工商银行行长之职的16年中，姜建清带领工行完成股份制改造、上市，并且跃居全球资产规模排名第一的宇宙大行，他也被誉为世界级银行家。

在由复旦管理学奖励基金会、复旦大学东方管理研究院与上海第一财经传媒有限公司联合开展的“改变世界——中国杰出企业家管理思想访谈录”第2集中，复旦大学管理学院教授、复旦大学EMBA授课教师苏勇与姜建清就银行管理学展开了精彩对话。

企业家  |  姜建清 

中国-中东欧金融控股有限公司董事长

中欧陆家嘴国际金融研究院院长

前中国工商银行董事长

访谈者 | 苏 勇 

复旦大学管理学院教授、博士生导师

复旦大学东方管理研究院院长

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=k00256aef1r&width=500&height=375&auto=0

本文视频来自第一财经频道 20180126《改变世界——中国杰出企业家管理思想访谈录》，实录文字摘自访谈现场速记

- 访谈实录 -

苏勇：中东欧基金和其他基金有什么区别？

姜建清：从运作模式、所遵循的规则来看，它和一般的基金是一样的。中国-中东欧基金有三方面的特点：

一是政府支持，商业运作，市场导向。我们的基金是“16+1”的机制，就是中国和中东欧16国每年有一个合作的会议机制，在这个机制上，正式确定要成立中国-中东欧金融公司和中国-中东欧基金。根据这个要求，我们从2016年开始筹办，当年11月正式开始运作。

二是规模比较大。我们标的为100亿欧元，大大超过现在国内的一般基金，将来有能力在中东欧地区从事投资等业务，带动、促进中国和中东欧国家之间的合作，受到了中国和中东欧国家的欢迎。我们和波兰、捷克、拉脱维亚都已经签订了备忘录，其他的一些中东欧国家也都非常积极，表示愿意参加，所以规模比较大。

三是比较区域化。很多的投资基金或者定位于中国，或者定位于全球，像我们定位于中东欧这样一个特定地区的比较少。

苏勇：政府支持，商业化运作，市场导向，资金规模比较大，聚焦于中东欧地区，这和中国政府现在倡导的“一带一路”合作是密切配合的。

姜建清：是的，中东欧地区就是“一带一路”中间的一个重要节点，从中国到中亚，再到中东欧，然后到西欧，所有的中东欧国家都是“一带一路”组成成员国。

苏勇：就是在经济上用投资项目来推动“一带一路”的发展？

姜建清：对，通过这个平台聚集全球的资本和中国的动力，用金融创新的方式来支持“一带一路”倡议的实施。

苏勇：外界评论说你的风格审慎、稳健。你觉得在你掌舵中国工商银行的16年间，这些审慎、稳健具体体现在哪些方面？

姜建清：我觉得一个银行家，不一定只是对我来说，对所有的银行家来说都应该审慎、稳健，这是银行职业的要求。

拿负债表来看，资本占全部资产的比重是非常低的，只有10%左右，国外有些银行连10%都不到，核心资本也就是4%-6%。大量的钱被称为负债，对老百姓来说就是存款，老百姓的存款、企业的存款、政府机构的存款构成了资金的主要来源，我们再把这些资金发放贷款，实现了从储蓄到投资的转化，并且支持了国民经济的发展。

这些钱是谁的？是大家的。所以银行履行的是信托责任，大家把钱存在这里是相信你，你怎么归还大家？这是一个非常朴素的道理，也是商业银行的核心意义所在。我们要有三性：安全性、流动性、效益性，安全性要放在第一位。

苏勇：但是为什么大家会对你有这种评价，可能的因素是什么？

姜建清：我想非常重要的就是，从这几十年来经历的中国金融改革的风风雨雨，我们越来越深刻地理解到了邓小平说的银行要办成真正银行的含义。过去的银行说是金库，也就是出纳，你来领钱我就给你钱，不是一个真正的银行。

历届的党中央、国务院领导一再强调，商业银行要遵循自身规律去办事，这些对我的影响是非常深刻的，特别是亲手经历了从技术上已经破产，有巨额不良资产和财务包袱的银行，在中国政府的支持和大家共同的努力下，通过艰难改革，凤凰涅磐，走出低谷，这对自己是刻骨铭心的。我想，做商业银行的管理者永远不能忘记审慎、稳健。

苏勇：你怎么看自己在工行16年的发展？

姜建清：我感到非常幸运，经历了中国商业银行从国有专业银行到国有独立银行，再到股份制上市银行的转变；从一个相对比较简单的存放汇业务为主的银行，变成综合化、多元化的金融服务机构；从国内的银行走向世界，成为全球化银行；从国内全球排列比较居后的银行，成为全球领先的银行，大家给我们的一个称号是“宇宙行”；从一个被西方认为技术上已经破产的银行，转变成在全世界领先，为全世界许多同业所赞誉的一家银行，这是我们的信用。

苏勇：你曾经讲过一句话，主管一家银行好像在跑马拉松，这是为什么？

姜建清：因为银行这个行业非常特殊，经营绩效反映在当期，风险是在之后反映的，这是一个方面；第二，按照一个周期来看，有时候银行在上行周期的时候，风险不容易暴露，而在下行周期的时候，会集中爆发。所以，一个商业银行家要完整地经历一次周期才能真正检验经营效果。从这个意义上来说，做银行家是跑马拉松，不能寄希望于100米、1000米，甚至10000米的时候掌声响起来。

苏勇：这个总结得非常好，一个是当期，一个是整个周期，经济上行、下行的问题。

姜建清：所以要想当金融家，想当官，干两年就拍屁股走路，风险留在后面，这不是一个真正的金融家。

本文来源：复旦管院 复旦大学EMBA项目  2018-05-04  《矿工“逆袭”成世界级银行家，且看姜建清的金融管理学 | 微课堂》

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姜建清：金融业“剩”者为王，金融家俱乐部尊重的是马拉松冠军

中国-中东欧基金董事长、中国工商银行原董事长姜建清（资料图）

中国-中东欧基金董事长、中国工商银行原董事长姜建清在参加上海交通大学上海高级金融学院（高金/ SAIF）2017年毕业典礼时，与350余名新一届高金毕业生分享了自己所走过的金融之路，发表了发人深省的人生感悟。他的演讲包括三大部分：“金融与人生”、“金融与变革”、“金融与风险”。以下为他的演讲全文：

首先祝贺大家，通过艰苦的学习，圆满毕业了，收获了友谊、开阔了眼界、提升了能力。你们即将带着满格电的动力，开启新的人生历程。祝愿大家在海阔天空的人生大道上走出属于自己的宽坦大路。很高兴能有机会与大家交流一些与金融相关的话题。我想讲三个方面。

第一：金融与人生

金融是一个有着历史积淀的古老行业，已延续千年，仍发挥着重要作用。有息贷款的历史甚至早至《旧约》圣经年代，楔形文字的借贷泥版，古希腊、古罗马的神庙、中世纪宗教对金融的禁锢，文艺复兴时期意大利的银行复兴，从金匠到现代银行，历史上无数次的金融危机的摧残，波澜起伏、风云激荡，但金融业依然老而弥壮，历久弥新，是因为金融业所承载的社会功能在持续演化、不断完善发展。它成功地将储蓄转化为投资，资本则推动了社会发展。虽然古老的金融业被认为是传统产业，但它又能持续自我创新驱动，领先嫁接最新科技，这正是它基业长青的秘诀。

金融与实业同生同荣、兴衰与共，金融的要义就是服务实体经济。金融被视作现代经济的核心，牵动各方关注和期盼的目光。回顾历史，大至一个国家政权、小至一个企业或个人，多少因为举债不当、金融问题而导致多年来的心血灰飞烟灭甚至破产倒闭，而多少又因为金融的有力支持而实现了国富民强、干事创业的伟大梦想！

虽然有时人们对金融带有偏见，甚至不时受到社会严厉批评指责，然而人们还是信任地将全部身家性命托付给它。对待金融始终有不同诠释，它是折射人性最好的镜子，就像它的孳生物-金钱，被人诅咒又被人热爱。金融就是这么一个矛盾的结合体，多么像人生。

金融与国家强大与兴盛密切相连。中国是一个金融古国。但近百余年来，苦难的中国积贫积弱，弱国焉能有强金融？一战前的1913年，全球前20大银行均为西方列强占据，中国交通银行、中国银行作为当时中国最大的银行，其总资产仅占当时全球最大银行的7.2%和2.8%。在中国改革开放的前期，财政收入并不能支持经济的赶超发展，金融发挥了重要的支撑作用。在经历了经济周期和危机之后，人们越发理解了尊重金融规律的重要性。

中国金融的发展和调整、改革一直相伴而行，调整、改革的过程，并非浪静波平、顺风顺水，其间大多曲折艰辛，一波三折，是在危机和忧患中开辟、铺就出来的道路，是在质疑和挑战中不断突破、重生的过程。特别是一些重大关口的变革抉择，只能成功不能失败，却又无前人之路可循，无既成模式可学，一切都在摸索、探索中走过来。艰难困苦、玉汝于成，中国金融发生了翻天覆地变化、取得举世瞩目成就。一代一代金融家们伴随着新中国金融成长和成熟，金融家的人生离不开时代的际遇。

个人的际遇都是时代赋予的，个人的价值都是时代造就的，变革的时代给每个人带来了机遇可能。回想往事，正是因为改革开放，社会更加多样性，经济更加多元化。和父辈、兄长们不一样，我们这一代人在理工科之外有了金融、管理、法律等学科和专业选择。

我们选择金融是幸福的，感恩这个伟大的时代，使我们有幸能参与这场波澜壮阔的中国金融业改革。见证了中国金融业勤于探索、善于借鉴、勇于创造、敢于超越的改革精神。亲历了中国主要商业银行从国有独资商业银行到国际公众持股公司，从主营存贷汇等基础业务扩展到以商业银行为主体、横跨投资银行、基金、金融租赁、保险、全球商品和货币市场交易等国际化综合化经营，从以算盘手工操作为主的传统银行走向信息数据化高度发达的现代银行，从本土银行成长为全球领先的大型跨国金融集团。从曾被西方认为“技术上已经破产的银行”，登顶百年来多少银行家盼望的全球金融业顶峰。正是伟大变革的时代，才让我们施展的舞台这么大。

每个时代都有时代的特征，每个时代人们遇到的机遇和挑战不一样。在我从事金融工作时，并不深知金融的意义。在之后的工作、学习和职业历练中，越来越理解了金融的深刻涵义。理解了金融的经济性，正是金融发挥了中介作用，资产实现了转化，经济发展有了推力，财富得到增值，效率、福利得以提高。理解了金融的社会性，对于塑造一个更加公平、公正、高效的世界的意义。一个健康的金融是与社会经济有机联结、共兴共荣的。

正如罗伯特·希勒所说的，“金融并非为了赚钱而赚钱，金融的存在是为了帮助实现其他的目标，即社会的目标，从这个意义上讲，它是一门功能性学科。”金融业是接触社会、接触企业、接触人最多的行业，个人干事创业的梦想、家庭的幸福平安都离不开金融功能的发挥。它是服务型产业，但它与实体产业联系最为密切。它是创新型企业，今日关于金融科技的谈论差不多要占金融论坛内容的一半以上。它是年轻人向往的职业，所有高校几乎没有不设金融专业的。对职业的理解就会产生热爱，热爱就会产生兴趣。持久而强烈的兴趣，使从事的职业成为了事业。

人生中有三分之一的时间是职业生涯。如果能享受事业带来的幸福，持续求知、持续进步，就十分享受过程的成就感。人生的成功是感受到快乐，是快乐的过程均值，而不是期末时点值；是内在的自我认知和体验，并不是外界他人的评价。别人眼中认为你是成功者，而你内心是不快乐的，那就不是真的成功。理解所从事的职业、在拥有更多的专业知识和素养的同时，多一些金融历史的深度和厚度，多一些社会责任和使命，多一些情怀和格局，多一些诗和远方，人生会更加的幸福圆满。

第二：金融与变革

当前世界金融业正面临经济周期、行业周期和科技周期的叠加影响。当你们离开校园时，正面临一个巨大转型、迅速变化的金融时代，全球金融业的发展正处于一个战略“迷茫期”。你们将是变革的一代，不仅仅指金融行业的变革，你们个人的职业生涯都可能变化。因为变化，你们会感到兴奋、感到困惑、或感到痛苦，但终究是幸福的，亲身经历、见证或参与变革者是幸运者。

在三十多年前，选择金融专业是幸运的，市场经济的快速发展，给当时从事金融业的年轻人带来了广阔的舞台。我们是幸运的一代，因为有机会参与中国波澜壮阔的金融改革事业。

今天，在你们接力跑的金融生涯中，中国金融业的规模更大、范围更广、业务更复杂，机遇和挑战更多。但选择金融专业的不确定性是比过去更大了，我不仅仅指中国金融从业人员已经近570万人，高校金融专业已有“产能过剩”迹象。我指的是，经历了过去几十年兴盛繁荣的中国金融业，也进入了深度调整阶段，面临着同业和跨界的机构挑战、“去中介化”的功能挑战。虽然金融业中介功能依然需要，是不会消失的，但承担支付、融资、风控和数据处理功能的中介机构、岗位是可能被替代的。未来的金融可能不是一个场所，但它仍然是一种不可或缺的服务。

展望未来，你们的竞争者可能不是你们的同行和同事，而是新的金融科技。

以移动互联、大数据、云计算、人工智能为代表的新一代信息技术，本质上是一场关于金融信息的传输、接收、分析、处理技术的革命，它的演进创新已经改变了金融模式、业务和产品。它将进一步打破金融交易和服务在时间和空间上的限制；带来客户需求偏好的改变、服务的便利性和覆盖面改变，服务水平和客户体验大幅提升；带来了商业模式、理念和金融文化上的一系列变化。

未来金融领域的变化，或许比我们想象得还要快。在融资领域，大数据技术和人工智能会提升资产转化过程中风险的把控能力，信贷决策也是博弈过程，会超越依靠实践和失误积累经验的传统做法。通过学习积累胜败经验，利用深度神经网络，模拟人脑的机制来判断、决策信贷。风险管理的准确性和精细化程度将实现质的提升；区块链技术会在支付等多领域发挥作用，提升安全性；VR技术会在信贷现场调查等领域崭露头角，非结构化的图像数据为远程决策者提供身如其景的感受；智能投顾会改善资产管理和私人银行业务的服务；远程移动互联技术会导致传统银行营业服务模式的颠覆。

你们是幸福的，因为有机会参与这场金融变革。机遇就蕴藏在变革中，理想实现在挑战后，你们要亲身去认知、去尝试、去试错，努力把“为”变作“成为”。你们的梦想万一实现了呢？！未来最有竞争力的金融机构，必然是应时应需而变，除旧布新、革新鼎故。持续变革是保持活力的关键。未来的金融家，或是懂科技的金融专家，或是懂金融的科技专家。终身学习、持续充电、勤于思考、敢于实践是金融从业人员知识不被快速折旧的关键。

第三：金融与风险

在金融业，唯一不变是风险控制。风险管理的悠久历史甚至可以回溯到公元前2000多年前的苏美尔年代，当时的楔形文字借款合同要素几乎与今天相同，还款时须当众砸碎泥版合同予以销账。而近代出土的完好泥版说明NPL(不良贷款)古已有之。现代经济是信用经济，信用关系无处不在，信用规模日趋扩张，信用结构日益复杂。随着金融市场广度、深度不断增大、产品体系愈益复杂、金融的开放度愈愈益扩大，金融风险愈益增加。风险管理是金融的核心要义，金融业则通过风险的识别、监测、处置和管理从而创造效益、实现自身的稳健发展，并推动社会进步。

金融是繁荣的推手，但危机也与金融有关。金融风险像海浪一样，多少年一个轮回，一波一波地冲击着社会经济稳定的礁石，反复出现、永不消亡。中国金融业在改革开放几十年来，取得的进步有目共睹。但也遭遇过多起较大的金融风险。金融业是经营风险的机构，本身具脆弱性，尽管金融风险与市场环境瞬间剧变相关，具有特殊性和偶然性，但自身的过度扩张、盲目创新、忽视经济运行的基本规律，忽略基础性风险的防范才是导致风险的罪魁祸首。

中国金融业多少沉痛往事，告诫后来者莫忘风险及莫蹈前车覆辙。因此，把住风险是优秀金融家的底线，风险管理是金融业立身之本。金融家们今日正在书写着明天的历史，假若不敬畏市场规律、不敬畏金融法则，那么所犯的金融错误又会演进为明天的悔恨。

无论金融创新和金融形态如何发展，金融的本质和功能是不会变化的。金融业是一个讲求平衡的行业，金融的资产负债表就是T型表。要求金融业管理者必须平衡好收益与风险的关系，长期与短期的关系，规模、速度与质量的关系，切忌过分追求短期功利。金融家负有不可推却的对存款人的信托重任，尤其要审慎。英国十九世纪的文学家斯迈尔斯有过这样一句名言“无论你的心灵是在极地的上空浪漫地翱翔，还是在尘世的黑洞里艰难地探索，你都应该记住：明智、审慎和小心翼翼地自我节制是智慧和幸福的源泉”。

虽然从事金融职业的人，都可以称之为金融家或银行家。但金融业的特殊性、内部架构的复杂性、风险的滞后性，金融家需要经过风险的检验和历史的审视。金融业“剩”者为王，金融家稳健甚至保守是行业的优良文化传统。我曾多次讲过，金融家俱乐部不欣赏百米短跑选手，尊重的是马拉松冠军。

我常回想起那么一天。2000年2月的一天，我去中组部接受担任工商银行行长职务的谈话。在路上自己心情十分沉重，因为我深知当时工商银行面临的巨额不良贷款的沉重压力，在1998年年中，工商银行按五级分类计算的不良贷款高达47.5%，此外还有巨额的财务包袱。在汽车的广播里，报道着北京正在进行的国际马拉松比赛。我突然想到，银行改革和发展不就是一场马拉松吗，不能只盯着100米、1000米、10000米，不要期待短暂时间的掌声响起来。往往企盼短暂成绩和荣誉的选手是跑不到终点的。我和同事们坚持跑马拉松，终于取得了成功。

在中国银行业面对巨大困难，被西方称为“技术上已经破产”的年代要有这种精神；在破釜沉舟、财务重组、改制上市的时期，在金融发展模式调整，信息化、综合化、国际化转型的过程需要这种精神；在今后你们充满挑战的职业、事业生涯中也需要这种精神。跑马拉松需要技术、速度和激情，更需要毅力、耐力和恒心。今天，站在新起点、处在经济新常态下的中国金融业，面临的困难之多、挑战之多、风险之多，一点儿也不亚于上一个时期，需要心无旁骛、脚踏实地。每个人的人生成功就在于坚持、在于毅力。

你们从毕业的那一刻起，就奔跑在马拉松的路上、攀登在崇山峻岭的征程。人生就是在奔跑过程中接近和实现目标，美好风光不仅在沿途更在高峰等待着你们。

谢谢大家！

本文来源：上海高级金融学院

延伸

阅读二

姜建清新著《世界金融百年沧桑记忆》出炉，风云际会，往事并非如烟

一部记载在币章中的银行兴衰史！本书一共三册，第一册将于四月份正式出版！

一场跨越 200 年的世界银行纪念币章之旅,饱含银行业沉浮变幻；

汇聚 1500 余枚银行专题纪念章，涉及五六十个国家的数百家银行；

有兴衰正史，也有奇闻轶事，跟随作者拂去百年的尘埃，看到历史的光芒。 

一部基于各银行发行的纪念币章编撰的世界银行史

本书由饱经历史沧桑的银行纪念币章作引，娓娓道来，剥丝抽茧，以轻松的语调讲述隐藏在这些币章背后的跨越百年的金融史、银行史。本书深度挖掘、整理大量原始实物史料，深入描述了外国银行的历史演变，汇聚了 1500 余枚银行专题纪念章，涉及五六十个国家的几百家银行，史料非常丰富内容独特，兼具可读性和收藏性。 

由金属币章构成的世界银行史只有数百年的时间，本书收录的最早的银行纪念章发行至今已逾 200 年，然而这百年间，许多当年的发行银行都已经不复存在，那些历史也早已被人们遗忘，但是，这些坚硬的金属币章，犹如一枚枚金融历史的“指纹”，在今天这个世界金融业最精彩的时代，继续散发出厚重而耀眼的光芒。 

【作者简介】 

姜建清

历任中国工商银行上海市分行行长、中国工商银行行长、中国工商银行股份有限公司董事长，享誉海内外的著名银行家，兼任中国人民银行货币政策委员会委员、中国金融学会副会长、中国城市金融学会会长，上海交通大学教授、博士生导师。

执掌工商银行期间，带领全行顺利完成股份制改造、境内外上市，并且跃居成为全球领先大银行、系统重要性银行，一级资本、存款及总资产等多项指标全球排名数年蝉联第一。姜建清不仅有着丰富的银行经营管理经验，同时具有很高的理论研究素养。对银行业经营管理、金融改革发展及金融史领域等有关问题有着深入、独到的研究，先后出版主要著作有：《海外金融风潮评析》、《金融风潮沉思录》、《美国银行业的科技革命》、《金融高科技的发展及其深层影响研究》、《国际商业银行监管环境与体制》、《银行转型与收益结构研究》、《商业银行国际化：环境与体制》(上、下册)等，主持编修并出版《近代中国银行业机构人名大辞典》、《中国工商银行史》多个分册等，并在《金融研究》、《财经界》、《财经》、《银行家》、《中国金融》、《上海金融》、《金融论坛》等核心期刊发表专业学术论文上百篇。

【目录】 

1、英雄失去了小红伞

2、高盛:一个“高贵”名字的“卑微”起源 

3、英国针线街上的“老妇人” 

4、拿破仑亲手缔造的银行 

5、以色列银行体系中的“工农中建” 

6、波士顿银行的前世今生 

7、谁是全球最大的银行 

8、松鼠的家园 

9、松鼠的觅食

10、100 年前的世界银行“巨无霸” 

11、“胜利女神”折翼

12、富得过五代 

13、压倒骆驼的不是哪一根草

14、3000 年的金融荣耀今何在 

15、上帝的银行家 

16、银行的诞生之地：神庙还是板凳 

17、优雅的老妇人去向何处 

18、源出一体、殊途同归的银行博物馆 

19、在中国澳门发钞的葡萄牙大西洋银行 

20、终结的货币 

【序言】

序

姜建清

时间如白驹过隙，当我完成了《世界金融百年沧桑记忆》前两卷的最后一篇文章，开始写这个序言时,突然发现从执笔第一篇到杀青第四十篇，已经整整六年过去了。记得《英雄失去了小红伞》是我写国外银行历史的第一篇文章，是一则从花旗银行的一枚历史大铜章引发的花旗银行和旅行者保险集团的故事。当时恰逢次贷危机肆虐，读者对这样的银行历史札记比较喜欢。于是在《行家》杂志编辑的引诱、催促、逼迫下，聚沙成塔，集腋成裘地完成了这两册书。

初始文章由银行的纪念章作引子，导出该银行的历史，文笔较轻松，颇有可读可观性。没想到由此给自己徒增了烦恼。因为此后编辑要求坚持这一风格，这大大增加了文章的写作难度。在撰文过程中，有章无史、有史无章、史多章少、章多史少，都成了写作的瓶颈。虽然全世界不少银行都曾在自身发展的重要时期、为重大事件发行过纪念章。但岁月蹉跎、时光荏苒，这些古旧纪念章早已湮灭在悠悠岁月中。好在互联网的世界是平的。我费力地通过ebay、淘宝搜寻、购买，尽量满足写作需要。我恍然发现，尽管最早的银行纪念章发行至今已逾200多年，许多发行银行已不复存在，被人们全然忘却，但坚硬的金属却留下了难以磨灭的记忆。这是一个人们未曾涉足的金融世界。我突然有了强烈的意识，去识别它们、读懂它们、恢复它们用数十种文字记载的历史。在阅读这些精美绝伦的各国银行的古老币章时，我常常陷入沉思。我明白了，正像竹木简牍遗史留典，这是一本由金属币章编撰的世界银行史。章中承载着多少金融沧桑的历史记忆，蕴含着多少可供借鉴的现实意义。这部独特的金属币章史书，是历史与艺术的完美结合。编纂者中群星灿烂，多少著名银行家和艺术大师都参与“写”作，在坚硬的金属币章上留下了历史和个人的“指纹”。纵观人类文明进化历程，金文竹简已有3000多年的历史，纸质书牍或有近1800年的历史。而这部独特的，由金属币章构成的世界银行史书只有数百年的历史。因为1585年法国才有了纪念性金属币章的铸造，其中银行纪念币章的历史更晚一些。但这丝毫不影响它在世界金融业最精彩的时代散发出耀眼光芒，铭刻在金属上的历史使它显得格外厚重。

历史学是一门使人聪明的学问。中国古人说，以史为鉴可以知兴替。英国前首相温斯顿·丘吉尔说，你能看到多远的过去，你就能看到多远的未来。银行史学是一门使银行家警醒的学问。在百年的金融变迁中，陵谷沧桑、白云苍狗，多少曾经声名显赫的银行如彗星划过夜空，短暂的绚丽后消失在浩瀚的星际。多少金融机构瞬息即逝，湮没在金融历史的长河中。又有多少默默无闻的银行涓涓细流汇成海，吹尽狂沙始到金，百年老店终成霸。成功者和失败者共同谱写了银行史，延续了千载百年的金融流脉。它们的历史随风消散，然而幸运的是，尚存它们遗落人间的币章。拂去百年的尘埃，释读了它们的年轮。帮助我们回溯寻觅那些人迹稀罕的银行历史主流和各条支流；启发我们寻根探源那些熟悉和不熟悉，存在和已不存在的银行古老档案；引导我们涉足金融密林深处，回访那些金融巨兽弱肉强食、生死相搏的购并故地旧事。回顾历史不是为了怀旧，因为所有的历史都是当代史。金融往事虽然不堪回首，但智者爱史，善于总结，是为了避免重蹈覆辙。

数百年来全球金融变幻的历史，深刻反映了全球政治格局、国家实力和经济地理等综合力量的变化。它像一面镜子，折射出经济霸主和金融强权走马灯般的转换。从葡萄牙、西班牙、荷兰、英国、法国、德国到美国的易位变化，离不开刀兵相较、炮火相加。经济、金融的战场没有硝烟却惨烈相仿。盛极而衰、百年轮回，大国经济、金融的变迁，折射出全球经济政治格局变迁的复杂深刻的背景。从一国金融演变长期或根本性的决定因素来分析，与各自母国政治经济金融实力以及在全球格局中地位与影响的消长变化密不可分，从英美两国由工业、经济到金融霸主地位的获取和丧失的先后次序排列，也反映了经济对金融的决定性。这是全球金融业产生、发展、强盛和衰落的一般规律。1913年全球前20大银行至今仅五家尚存，便是这个规律的最好佐证。三十年河东，三十年河西。我在文中感叹地写道，冷观伦敦金融霸主终究拱手相让、笑看银行你追我赶难有武林至尊。多少金融强者笑傲江湖终成黄粱一梦，然而金融赛场未至终了何言成败。唯有金属币章难以磨损。它们默默地见证着百年来全球政治变幻无常、经济兴衰沉浮和金融风云激荡。

凯恩斯曾经说过，如果以货币的角度发掘历史，整个历史将会被颠覆。从金融史的角度观察、解读世界，可以对世界史有更多维、更立体、更深刻的认识。世界经济快速增长的分水岭大约出现在1820年左右。美国著名学者威廉·伯恩斯坦在经济史著作《繁荣的背后》一书中，将西方列强经济增长比作蛋糕，将成功的四要素“财产权、科学理性主义、资本市场和通信和运输技术创新”比作面粉、鸡蛋、酵母和砂糖。确实没有财产权则没有储蓄，资本市场难为无米之炊。没有科学理性主义，金融还在中世纪宗教阴影下挣扎。而创新、创意的商业化需要金融的转化。资本市场则给经济发展亟需的基础设施建设提供资助。金融与资本推动着经济的发展，从而推动着世界的前进，金融的滞后发展必然拉扯了社会经济发展的后腿。但经济是本，金融是末，皮之不存，毛将焉附。决定世界发展的主要力量并不是金融，对金融的作用不能过分夸大。我在文中写到，金钱不能抵挡枪炮的威力，银行无力承担政治兴衰的重任。如果将法国巴黎公社的失败归咎于没有及时占领法兰西银行，那么创立并掌控法兰西银行的拿破仑为何会失利于滑铁卢？德国、匈牙利恶性的通货膨胀加速了当权政府垮台，以致极权势力上台，但只是催化因素而非因果关系。

金融如水、水能载舟、亦能覆舟。人类社会近百年来的快速发展得益于金融的发展，但危机亦源于此。从金融活动出现以来，无论是古罗马的货币危机，中世纪的借贷禁锢，欧洲早期的“郁金香泡沫”和“南海泡沫”，1929年的美国证券危机，1990年代的拉丁美洲金融危机，1997年的亚洲金融危机、2007年之后的次贷危机和欧洲主权债务危机，金融危机像海浪一样，一波一波地冲击着社会经济稳定的礁石，反复出现、从未消亡。所有的金融史都是一部风险史。风险如同银行家的影子一般无所不在、倚伴而行。风险与效益如同毕加索立体画中同一人像的两张脸，当银行家在看到庆贺盈利的笑脸时，侧眼一看风险的狞脸在阴笑。百年间银行业多少沉痛往事，告诫后来者莫忘风险，莫蹈前车覆辙。由于银行体系本身所具脆弱性，几乎所有的失败者都折戟于风险。因而把住风险是优秀银行家的底线，稳健经营是打造百年老店的不二法门。银行家俱乐部不欣赏百米短跑选手，尊重的是马拉松冠军。历史是惊人的相似，然而人类总是健忘。风和日丽的年代往往使金融家忘记了以往的灾难，前天悲惨的金融故事，一次次成为昨天的残酷现实。金融家们今日仍在书写着明天的历史。假若不敬畏市场规律、不敬畏金融法则，那么所犯的金融错误又会演进为明天的悔恨。虽然历史环境的变迁，金融迈过的不是昨天的河流了。无论是历史学或是什么著名大学案例，它讲述的是昨天成功者或失败者的故事，但“邯郸学步”的失败可能依然不少。我们无法预知未来，我们确实不知道下一场更大的金融海啸，来自何时、何地乃至何因爆发。但历史是“聪明学”，相信读史能帮助我们深入思考、领会精髓、把握金融的“常识”和规律，能理性地比较并决策。

我在书中也对世界银行业及其制度发展的轨迹作了阐述，作了研究、思考并留下了许多有待进一步研究的课题。古希腊和之后罗马的神庙曾起到银行的作用，宗教对金融业的发展和遏制起到了重要作用；金本位的沿革过程，及对当时中国的影响；证交所的诞生经历和几次重大的股票市场危机；在比特币又在甚嚣尘上的时候，议论中央银行制度是否需要，货币发行要否垄断又沉滓泛起。著名经济学家哈耶克的自由银行业观点仍被少数学者推崇，美国和苏格兰时期的自由银行时代和“货币非国家化”、“自由货币”制度仍为一些人仰慕，重读美国中央银行史，认识到美联储为什么成为第三家美国银行会对这个问题有所了解；从苏联国际经济合作银行和莫斯科人民银行的故事揭示出冷战时期金融战的奇特历史与苏联时代海外金融的一段难以磨灭的历史，会加深对金融竞争力是国家竞争力主要组成部分的认识；拉丁美洲金融改革的沉痛教训，对认识民粹主义和金融管制的恶果会更加清晰；从全球银行博物馆的蓬勃发展和现状，认识到金融普及教育的必要性；从近代储蓄银行的诞生、演变到分化或消亡，信用合作运动及机构的产生、成长到改革，为什么扶持小微企业的合作银行和储蓄银行制度在许多国家日渐式微？非主权货币欧元的过去、现在和将来，欧元区的忧患何在？在大而不能倒的批评声和监管政策趋严同时，全球银行业却背道而驰，银行集中度在继续增强，以色列、加拿大、美国及全球主要国家呈现了相同趋势，只有中国孤独地背向而行，谁是谁非呢？为何贪婪与恐惧，欺诈与轻信，一场场相似的大剧不断周而复始地上演？为什么金融的监管的松严过度都会带来严重后果？在写作中，众多的历史和现实问题，至今仍困惑着自己。人类社会经历无数次金融危机，带来经济崩溃，社会动荡，贫富分化和道德沦陷，给国际社会造成了巨大伤害。尽管有无数次的政治抨击，经历无数次的监管整治，金融业还是老而弥壮，不断发展壮大。因为资本是推动近现代历史发展的动力。它对人类社会、经济和实体企业的推进作用是无可替代的。假如没有金融推动，人类可能还停留在中世纪黑暗、停滞时代，资本主义萌芽不可能生长，人类历史肯定要重新书写了。历史是一种价值观，历史的消逝并非随风而去，它留下了深刻的铭记，甚至植下了基因。曾与一位欧洲的资深政治家聊起，他认为应该理解德国人为什么在欧洲主权债务危机后，执着地坚持欧洲各国财政紧缩的要求，是因为一战后德国因战争赔款，面临恶性通货膨胀，人们处在水深火热之中，因而对金融危机有特别难忘的记忆，而欧洲其他国家就没有这样的经历。同样英格兰银行自创立至今300余年，老而弥坚，英国的金融制度和金融市场之所以领先全球，是否有金融基因的遗传？苏格兰银行家的节俭天下闻名，留下了许多脍炙人口的轶闻。这或许与苏格兰遍布着荒芜峡谷的地理环境有关，劣势和窘境往往也是练就银行家自尊、自立、勤俭的责任品格的熔炉。

世界上成功的银行各有各的成功故事，失败的银行却诉说着相同的失败经历。政治、社会、经济危机殃及，政府融资干预，过度信贷增长，发展理念扭曲，国外盲目扩张，风险内控失灵等。在阅读及写作过程中，越加对经营银行感到敬畏。您要赚大钱吧，您就开银行。您要亏大钱，您也开银行。书中详述了众多国外银行从小到大、从弱趋强变化或相反的轮回。法国巴黎银行、兴业银行、松鼠储蓄银行的兴盛故事；两个欧洲老妇人银行的相异道路；美国波士顿银行的海外传奇及与中国的渊薮；希腊、西班牙、以色列和罗马尼亚等银行的起源成长；澳门发钞银行的前世今生…。时势造英雄亦造银行。书中阐述了众多国际银行业的购并，收购兼并或使成功者更加成功，或使成功者失败和失败者更加失败。西班牙BBVA仅有150年历史却经历了150多次购并，至今称雄在拉美市场。汇丰银行亦是金融购并王者，成就跨国银行霸业。然而近年悄然从“全球的地方银行”改口“全球的领先银行”，是否也反映了其全球化战略的转向。从花旗收购旅行者集团的世纪购并最终留下了一弯红痕，留下了是否保险集团收购银行诸事不宜的疑问。富通集团庆贺世纪并购成功，却不幸地倒在庆祝酒宴上。德意志银行先行收购后又出售德国邮政储蓄银行，也许当初就犯了战略导向错误。不幸地将马放在马车前的美国富国银行，哀叹金融优等生却在操作风险上栽了跟斗。苏联和俄罗斯的金融改革过程，从早期漠视金融规律到后期漠视金融风险，看来是对立的两极，其实质都是缺乏对金融的本质的深刻理解。金融开放是一把双刃剑，运用得好可以促进金融部门效率的提高，促进经济增长，反之则会使金融体系出现不稳定因素，对经济产生负面影响。在外部条件不具备进行金融改革的时期激进推进，还会酿成巨大金融风险。金融改革必须和其它经济和监管领域的改革配套进行。金融过度放任自流，缺乏监管能力，缺乏公共参与和市场约束，就可能导致社会经济、金融的震荡和危机。众多银行的兴衰故事都予与了案例证实。

金融的诞生、发展和消亡与金融家分不开。文中讲述了意大利美第奇家族传奇及欧洲的银行复兴时代；讲述了苏格兰人威廉·佩特森为英国战争平台融资而造就了世界中央银行的鼻祖；讲述了法国里昂信贷创始人亨利·热尔曼，他将一家从为纺织业服务的小银行，发展为在1900年那个世纪之交时就跻身世界银行业之最，他创立并影响至今的银行分业经营理论，阴影依然为今天的银行家所感受。文中讲述了高盛公司卑微的起源，德裔移民高曼和萨克斯怎样创造了一个伟大的公司和一个分裂的家庭；讲述了瑞典北欧斯安银行打破魔咒，富过了五代；讲述了梵蒂冈上帝的银行家的惊骇故事；讲述了希特勒辉煌“金融成就”并掠夺金融、毁于金融的历史；讲述了美国中央银行创始人汉密尔顿和美国总统杰斐逊生死相斗的事实真相，两人的分歧源于对美国建国路线的异同，并非阴谋论披露的内容；讲述了空想社会主义的信用合作理论的践行者德国人赖夫艾森和鼓励贫困农民通过小额储蓄自助自立的英国人亨利·邓肯的感人故事；讲述了“劣币驱逐良币”发明者格雷钦其人其事及万有引力定律发明者牛顿的金融生涯；讲述了创建法兰西银行的拿破仑及其侄子的金融才能。虽然金融和金融家的兴衰沉浮离不开时代的政治环境。但也与金融家的性格、努力密不可分，讲述金融家的故事，使稍嫌枯燥的金融史显得有血有肉，使惊心动魄的金融战中凸显了背后人的因素。人们或许更能了解历史过程的偶然性和必然性。

书中还介绍了另外一个群体，他们在艺术设计史，在雕塑或币章领域成就辉煌，享有赫赫大名。他们似乎不应该出现在金融史的著作中，但他们的大名已永久铭刻在这部由金融币章构成的奇特金融史书中了。他们中群星灿烂，多少人曾获罗马艺术大奖。他们是维纳斯神庙的常客，受到了艺术女神的眷顾，然而他们却无意识地来到了莫奈神庙（据称是最早罗马货币铸造地，货币名称Money 的来源）。在古希腊时代神庙曾充当银行，而最早的艺术展示也在神庙，看来艺术和银行是殊途同归了。在古希腊、古罗马年代，银币打制和雕塑造型艺术已经发达。经过历史传承和发展，第一次工业革命时期，仿形雕刻机发明，币章艺术成为浮雕艺术和金属压印技术的最佳结合。币章雕铸材质丰富多样，包括金、银、铜、铁、铝及它们不同比例构成的合金。题材选择十分广泛，表现视角异常多元，艺术手法相当自由，吸引众多大师们参与设计铸造。大师们在方寸币章世界抒发着他们的艺术志趣、品位和情感。当时的欧洲正处于世界艺术发展的中心，出现了新古典主义、浪漫主义、印象派、后印象派、现代派、立体派、超现实主义等各种前卫艺术流派。不断涌现的各种艺术思潮，促使绘画和雕塑艺术得到极大的发展，亦对从事纪念币章创作的艺术家产生巨大的影响。雕刻家们在币章上精美的设计刻模作品，在新艺术运动中扮演了重要的角色。许多雕塑艺术的先锋，驰骋在方寸币章之间，尽情地发挥着天才的想象力，调动油画、素描、版画、雕塑等一切艺术表现形式，把金属的坚硬、柔韧、延展、色彩、光泽等物理特性发挥到极致。雕塑艺术虚实、疏密、阴阳等形神具备、美轮美奂。从而使银行币章艺术展现出丰富的文化、历史、现实、哲学的深厚内涵。最大限度地展现出它的艺术魅力，展示了浪漫的艺术气质，表现了艺术家永不懈怠的追求。近200年来，币章艺术被推至巅峰，作品具有巨大的艺术价值，是西方国家设计水平和铸造工艺的集中体现，雕塑创造了大量并永恒的艺术珍品。其中金融币章不仅以其绝妙的艺术和技术的结合征服了观众，而且金属的难以磨灭的特性，以实物形态将百年金融沧桑凝固在方寸之间，为银行史留下了永存的历史佐证和实物档案。这些名留千秋的艺术大师包括：法国的丹尼尔·杜普伊斯、路易斯·亚历山大·伯顿、路易斯·奥斯卡·鲁迪、查尔斯·皮勒、弗雷德里克·威尔侬、兰贝尔·杜马莱斯、阿贝尔·拉弗勒；英国的本杰明·怀恩、西班牙Enrique Monjode、美国Julio Kilenyi、罗斯的Pogozhelskii等。虽然艺术币章精品林立，但金融专题币章还是极少的。无心插柳柳成荫，不知不觉悄悄地汇聚起来1500枚银行专题纪念章，涉及五六十个国家的几百家银行。待三本书的写作目标实现后，设想成立一个小小的金融币章博物馆（室），想像到今后世界上不少国家的银行家寻觅到中国，惊讶、感叹地看到他们的银行或他们的前身发行的众多币章聚集在此时，心中悠然自喜。寻根历史、抚今追昔，相信这会成为银行家金融追思的神圣殿堂，会感受到一种金融文化的震撼。格“物”致知，有“博”乃大。在这里，历史已不是教科书上的文字，而是真情实景的重现。伫立其间，仿佛站在了银行发展历史源头，看到其前进潮流的涌动。

文章写作费时耗力。肩负银行经营管理重任，时间成为最大制约。于是发现古人“三上”的可行。出差途中，尤其是远程航行，特别容易凝神聚意。每次少看了几部机上电影，少睡了若干小时，万里高空中“空思遐想”和“远思漫想”，远离人世间的繁杂，沉湎在金融史的追忆和埋头于键盘的敲打中，尤其享受这样的时刻。

与日新月异的经济学科相比，与相对不繁荣的经济史对照，银行史尤为“冷门”，目前中国出版的银行史著述很少，尤其是外国银行史，有也是少数几家熟悉的银行。对国外银行史研究既缺乏深度也缺乏广度。历史学的研究，史料考据、理论分析及综合考察是常用的方式。写银行史又涉及当时的政治、经济、文化，交叉性较强。由于断断续续地撰写，这本书像是银行史的札记，比较“碎片化”。以讲述银行的故事为主，有时在文中也做些理论归纳或评说。但在史料的考证上努力论证寻据，力求精准无误。在撰写此书的过程中，深感关于世界各国银行史的中文资料的匮乏，于是满世界寻找购买。好在互联网使世界变小了。日积月累存下了几百部国外英文版银行史。也是无心插柳，为未来的国外银行史学研究创建了小小的专题图书馆。

新中国的金融从诞生、成长到强大，百年世界金融的沧桑变化，为中国银行业的发展提供了宝贵的经验。今天中国银行业已经跻身于世界金融业之林，中国工商银行更是跃居全球银行业鳌首。鉴往知来，现代金融的发展离不开历史、文化底蕴的支撑。忘记了银行业的历史，不可能深刻地了解现在和正确地走向未来。整理世界珍贵的金融文化遗产，发掘前人创造的金融文明成果，回顾金融的兴衰成败及经验教训，对于中国更好地推进现代银行业发展具有十分重要的意义。希望此书能对银行从业人员和金融管理者和金融历史研究学者等有所启迪。是为序。

PREFACE

Jiang Jianqing

Time passes quickly like a white pony's shadow across a crevice. When I finished the last article of the first two volumes of Medallic Memories: 100 Years of Financial History and began to write this preface, I suddenly discovered that full six years have passed between writing the first and fortieth articles in the volumes. I remember that The Hero Who Lost the Little Red Umbrella was my first article on the history of foreign banks. It was a story about Citibank and Travelers Insurance memorialized by a sizable bronze medal of Citibank. At that time, the raging subprime mortgage crisis prompted readers to be interested in such articles about the bank’s history. Therefore, under the seduction, urging, and coercion of the editors of magazine Expert, I gathered information from many different sources. Completing the two volumes was like building a tower by collecting sand and materials from many different places.

The first article was inspired by the bank’s medal, which naturally leads to the history of the bank. The writing style was relatively light, quite readable, and knowledgeable. However, I did not expect that this later would increase my trouble. Because the editors of the magazine insisted on keeping this writing style, it increased the difficulty of writing such articles. When writing the later pieces, I encountered cases such as banks with medals but without a written history, banks with history but without any medals, banks with a lot of history but few medals, or banks with a lot of medals but little-known provenance. These blank spots have all become bottlenecks for my research and writing.

Although many banks around the world have issued medals for significant events during their crucial periods of development, many of these commemorative medals were lost into oblivion. Fortunately, the world of the Internet opens many doors. Laboriously, I searched and purchased these medals through eBay and Taobao to meet my writing needs as much as possible. Suddenly at one point, I discovered that although the earliest bank medals had been issued more than 200 years ago many of the issuing banks had ceased to exist and were utterly forgotten. Casting these medals in metal captures the story permanently. No one has ever chartered such a representation of the financial world. I was swiftly touched by a strong desire to identify them, understand them, and restore the history even though their accounts had been written in dozens of different languages.

While researching these bank’s beautiful medals, I drifted into deep thought. I understand that, similar to the history recorded on bamboo and wooden slips, what I researched was a glimpse into the history of global banks chronicled on medals. Alas, how many historical memories of financial vicissitudes became recorded in these medals? And how much one could interpret from these past experiences into realistic meanings!

This unique chronicle of past banking complete with medals is a perfect combination of history and art. The compilers of this history are brilliant stars including famous bankers and master artists, who participated in its "writing" and left their own individual "fingerprints" on the solid medals. Throughout the evolution of human civilization, we see that more than 3,000 years ago, people recorded history on bamboo slips in China, and nearly 1800 years, others noted history on paper. Because the first commemorative medal cast took place in France around 1585, its history is only several hundred years old. After that, banks commemorative medals started to appear more often. In other words, we can follow this unique global bank history documented on metal. They shed a dazzling light on the brightest era of global financial industry. The history inscribed on metal adds almost a mythical weight to the medals.

Learning history broadens peoples’ perspectives. Ancient Chinese said that using the patterns of history as a mirror can help people to predict the rise and fall of nations. Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said that the farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.

Bank history is a science that keeps bankers vigilant. In the hundreds of years of financial development, a lot of alterations and changes have taken place, and so many once-famous banks have appeared and then disappeared after a short time, just like the comets crossed the night sky before going into the universe. Many once-obscure banks accumulated strength like the sea which is healthy by gathering small trickles before finally becoming famous and influential institutions with hundreds of years of history.

The winners and losers together made the history of global banks. Their stories have dissipated with the wind, but fortunately, their medals have survived. We can now whisk away their dust for centuries and read into their details. These medals help us to trace back the historical streams and various branches of the banks that are rarely visited. They also inspire us to seek out the old archives of the banks that are familiar and unfamiliar; they are existent and non-existent. These medals guide us through the depths of the financial jungle and return to the merger and acquisition stories about financial behemoths preying on the weak. The purpose of reviewing history is not for nostalgia because all history is contemporary history. Although the financial past is unbearable to some extent, the wise men love history and are good at summing up experiences to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

The history of global financial turmoil over the centuries has profoundly reflected changes in global political structure, national strengths, and economic geography. It is like a mirror reflecting the moves of economic strong and financial powers. The changes of global superpower from Portugal to Spain, to the Netherlands, to the United Kingdom, to France, Germany, and the United States are inseparable from the exchange of swords and gunfire. The battlefields of economy and finance bear no smoke but are similarly fierce. The decline after culmination, the changes of hundreds of years, and transformations of economic and financial powers of big countries reflect the complex and profound background of the changes in global economic and political landscape. The analysis of long-term or fundamental determinants of a country’s financial evolution is inseparable from the study of changes in the political economy and financial strength of the nations and its position and influence in the global structure.

The successive acquisition and loss of industrial, economic and financial dominance of the United Kingdom and the United States have also testified that economy determines finance. Such is the general law of the emergence, development, prosperity, and decline of the global financial industry. Only five of the world’s top 20 banks in 1913 have survived so far, which is the best evidence of such a law. Changes in prosperity are frequent. I lamented in the book that after we see that London eventually gave up its hegemonic financial position and see that banks chase after each other, we cannot be assured that one institution can always be at the top forever. So many economic powerhouses lost in their pursuit of the top position, but we cannot say who the winner is because the game has not yet ended. Only these metal medals are here to stay. They silently witnessed the fickleness of global politics, economic ups and downs, and financial changes in the past 100 years.

John Keynes once said that if history is explored from the perspective of currency, then the entire account will be subverted. Observing and interpreting the world from the standpoint of financial past can help us have more dimensional, more detailed, and more profound understanding of world history. The watershed of a more rapid economic growth in the world appeared around 1820.

The famous American scholar William Bernstein described the economic growth of Western powers as a cake in his book The Birth of Plenty. He compared the four elements of success (property rights, scientific rationalism, capital markets, and technological innovation in communication and transportation) to “flour, eggs, yeast, and sugar.” In the absence of property rights, there would have been no savings, and then the capital market would not have appeared. Without scientific rationalism, finances would be still struggling under the shadow of ancient religions. The commercialization of innovation and creativity requires economic transformation. Capital markets provide financial support for the infrastructure needed for economic development. Finance and capital drive the growth of the economy and thus advance the world.

The development of finance, if lagged behind, will inevitably pull at the hind legs of social, economic growth. But the economy is the foundation; investment is the end, so, as an old Chinese saying goes, fur will not survive without the skin. The main force determining the development of the world is not the world of finance. That statement cannot ever be underestimated. I wrote in the articles that money cannot withstand the power of guns and banks cannot afford the responsibility of political rise and fall.

If we attribute the collapse of the Paris Commune to their failure to occupy the Banque de France promptly, then why did Napoleon, who founded and controlled the Banque de France, lose the battle at Waterloo? The vicious inflation in Germany and Hungary had accelerated the collapse of the incumbent governments. The totalitarian forces came to power, but it was only a catalytic factor rather than a causal relationship.

Finance is like water, and water can carry a boat yet it can also overturn it. The rapid development of human society over the past centuries has benefited from the expansion of finance, but crisis also stems from this. Since the advent of financial activities, many different disasters have happened. One could mention the ancient Roman currency crisis or the bans on borrowing in the Middle Ages. Or the “Tulip Bubbles” and “South Sea Bubbles” to the US securities crisis in 1929. Others were the Latin American financial crisis in the 1990s, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the subprime mortgage crisis after 2007, or the European sovereign debt crisis to name a few. Each financial crisis, like ocean waves, has hit the reefs of social and economic stability. And like waves, they repeatedly appear and never die.

All financial history is a history of the crisis. Risks, like the shadow of bankers, are ubiquitous and dependent. Dangers and profits are like the face of the same person in Picasso's impressionist paintings. When the bankers see a smiling face celebrating the gains, another side of the face is sullen and shows the gambles and hazards of banking.

In the past centuries, the catastrophes of the banking industry have caused investment counselors to warn people not to forget about risks and fall into the wrong direction. Due to the fragility of the banking system itself, almost all the losers had lost that battle with risks. Therefore, keeping a firm hold on anything chancy or uncertain is the bottom line of excellent bankers, and prudent management is the only way to build a century-old bank.

The bankers’ club does not admire 100-meter sprinters but respects marathon champions. History is strikingly similar, but humanity is always forgetful. On days when the weather is beautiful, bankers can forget the past disasters. The tragic financial story of the day before yesterday became the cruel reality of today, again and again. Every day, financiers still write tomorrow's history. If we do not respect the laws of the market and do not respect the laws of finance, then the financial mistakes committed today will evolve into tomorrow’s regrets. Although historical environment has changed, it is not the river that passed yesterday.

All history or famous university cases tell the stories of yesterday's winners or losers, but the failures of people who mimic past experiences mechanically, without studies, may still happen. We cannot predict the future. We do not know when, where and why the next great financial tsunami will arrive. But history is "smart learning." I believe that reading history can help us to think deeply, understand the essence, grasp the "common sense" and laws of finance, and make reasonable comparisons and decisions.

In my book, I also elaborated on the development of global bank industrial systems and put forward research and thoughts on this topic. There are many topics left for further study. The temples of ancient Greece and ancient Rome used to play the role of a bank. Religions also played an essential role in the development and containment of financial industry. And what about the evolution of the gold standard and its influence on China? Or the birth of stock exchanges and the ensuing significant stock exchange crises?

At this time when Bitcoin is so hot, we hear discussions about whether the central bank system is still needed, or whether the function of currency issuance should be monopolized. Friedrich Hayek’s free banking opinions are respected by scholars. The era of free banking in the United States and Scotland, as well as the system of “denationalization of currency” and “free money,” are still admired by some people. So I believe that if they reread the history of Federal Reserve of the United States and why the Fed became the Third Bank of the United States, this will help them understand the issue.

The story of the Soviet Union’s International Economic Cooperation Bank and People’s Bank of Moscow reveals the peculiar history of financial war during the Cold War and the indelible era of overseas finance of the Soviet Union. These histories help deepen our understanding of any economic rivalry as a significant component of national competitiveness. The painful lessons of Latin American business reforms will help us understand the consequences of populism and financial regulation.

The flourishing development of global bank museums can teach us the necessity of financial education. From the birth, evolution, differentiation, and demise of the modern savings bank system, to the development and growth of credit cooperation movements and institutions, we can understand why cooperative and savings banking systems for small and micro enterprises gradually declined in many countries. We can also learn about the past, present and future of the non-sovereign currency euro, and about its risks. While the criticisms on not-too-too-fail and regulatory policies have tightened, global banking sectors have run counter to the objections; bank concentration continues to increase in Israel, Canada, the United States, and in other major economies in the world.

Only China is moving in the opposite direction. Who is right and who is wrong? Why is it that dramas involving greed and fear, fraud and credulity continue to happen? Will the over-loosening of financial supervision cause serious consequences? In writing this preface, I have been and still, am confused by these historical and practical topics. Human society has experienced numerous financial crises, which brought about economic collapses, social unrests, polarization between rich and poor, moral downfalls, and significant harms to the international community. Despite countless political attacks and various regulatory rectifications, the financial industry is still healthy and continues to grow because capital is the driving force for the development of modern history. Its role in promoting human society, economy, and corporate entities is irreplaceable.

If there is no financial boost, humanity may remain in the dark and stagnant times of the Middle Ages. The germination of capitalism could not have grown, and our human history would be different if we still banked as they did back then. History shows a growth in specific values which does not go away with the wind. It has left deep impressions on mans’ mind and even our genes.

One senior European politician told me that we must understand why the Germans persistently insisted on the fiscal austerity of European countries after the European sovereign debt crisis. Because after the First World War, the Germans suffered retaliation for war and faced hyperinflation; people were in dire conditions. Thus the Germans had a particular memory about financial crisis while other European countries have no such experiences. Similarly, the Bank of England is more than 300 years old, but it is still strong. Why are Britain's financial systems and financial markets maintaining a leading position globally? Could it be some historical genes from the past? The thrifty Scottish bankers are famous all over the world, leaving behind many famous anecdotes. This may be due to the geographic environment in which Scotland is riddled with barren canyons. Knowing how nature is Spartan could have helped them to develop the ability to save for hard times. Disadvantages and dilemmas often form the melting pot for building a banker's self-respect, self-reliance, and diligent traits.

Successful banks in the world have their own respective success stories while failing banks tell the same failure experiences: plaguing political, social, and economic crises, government interventions on financing, excessive credit growths, distorted development concepts, blind expansion abroad, and dysfunctional internal control of risks. In the process of reading and writing, I am in awe of what I have learned about operating a bank. If you want to make big money, you should open a bank; if you're going to lose big money, you should also open a bank. This book details the transformation of many foreign banks from small to large, from weak to strong, or vice versa.

The histories of BNP Paribas, Société Générale, Groupe Caisse d'Épargne; the divergent roads of the two Old Ladies in Europe; the overseas legends of Boston Bank of America and its connections with China; the origins of banks in Greece, Spain, Israel and Romania; the past and present lives of the note-issuing bank in Macao are all worth studying. Turbulent times lead to the birth of heroes, and banks too. This book also elaborates on the mergers and acquisitions of many international banks and the triumph of those who became more successful, or the catastrophe of those who encounter insolvency.

The Spanish bank BBVA has only 150 years of history but has experienced more than 150 mergers and acquisitions and is so far the leader in Latin American market. HSBC is also the king of financial mergers and acquisitions and has achieved the dominance of international banking. However, in recent years, it has quietly changed its motto from "World’s Global Bank" to "World’s Leading Bank" which may have reflected the shift of its global strategy. The Acquisition of the century happened when Citigroup acquired the Travelers Group and left a red mark on its logo, initiating the question about whether it is appropriate for insurance companies to buy banks.

Fortis Group celebrated the success of its merger of the century too soon; unfortunately, it fell on its banquet of celebration due to an inadequate communication approach, not the lack of capital. After Deutsche Bank first acquired and then sold the Deutsch Postbank, it might have been a strategic mistake from the beginning. The Wells Fargo Bank, regrettably, put the horse before the carriage, lamenting that their risk management team failed to understand how unrealistic those sales goals were. 

The financial reform process of the Soviet Union and Russia showed their early indifference to economic laws and then, their recent disregard of financial risks which, on the surface, appears to be opposites and a profound lack of an understanding about the essence of finance. But is it?

Financial liberalization is a double-edged sword. If it is used well, it can promote the efficiency of the financial sector and support economic growth. If not, it can cause instability in the financial system and negatively affect the entire economy. The radical advancement of financial reforms during a time when external conditions are not in place will also create enormous financial risks. Financial changes must be coordinated with other economic and regulatory reforms. Financial over-indulgence, lack of regulatory capacity, lack of public participation, and market constraints may lead to social and economic shocks and financial crisis. The stories of the rise and fall of many banks have testified these notions.

The birth, development, and demise of finance are inseparably connected to the pathways of international financiers. This book tells the story of the Medici family in Italy and the era of bank revival in Europe. It tells the story of Scotsman William Paterson, the originator of the world’s first central bank who worked for the financing platform of British wars. It tells the story of Henri Germain, founder of Credit Lyonnais, who developed a small bank that started off serving the textile industry and grown into one of the best global banks at the turn of the century in 1900. Mr. Germain founded and influenced the theory of bank’s separate operations, and until today the shadows are still felt by the banker.

This book also describes the humble origin of Goldman Sachs and how the German immigrants, Goldman and Sachs, created a great company and branched out into other investment opportunities. It also tells a different story about Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) whose owners broke the curse of failure and enjoyed five generations of wealth. It goes into details about the horror story of some of the Vatican’s bankers. It tells the story of Hitler's “brilliant financial achievements” and how he plundered and was ruined by economics.

This book also tells the truth about the fighting between Alexander Hamilton, founder of the central bank of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson, an American President, whose disputes were due to their differences about the founding philosophy of the United States and not due to some reasons of a conspiracy theory. It tells the story about Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, a German Utopian Socialist, who engaged in grasping the credit cooperative theory all the way to the touching feelings of Henry Duncan, an Englishman who encouraged poor farmers to help themselves through small savings.

This book also tells the story about the financial career of Sir Thomas Gresham, after whom the Gresham’s Law was named, and Isaac Newton. It shows how Napoleon created the Banque de France and the financial capabilities of his nephew.

Although the rise and fall of finance and financiers cannot be separated from the political environment of the times, it is also inseparable from all the different financiers’ characters and efforts. Telling the stories of financiers can transform somewhat dull financial stories into an exciting flesh-and-blood reality so that the influences and features of the people behind the thrilling economic stories are revealed. People may better understand the contingency and inevitability of the historical process this way.

This book also introduces another group of people who have achieved brilliant achievements in the history of art, design, or sculpture and have enjoyed an excellent reputation. One would think these artists have no place in the writings of financial history, but their names have been permanently preserved in this particular economic history book because it is a book that traces the history of financial medals.

The stars of these pages are brilliant, and many have won the prestigious Rome Art Award. In ancient times, artisans frequently visited the Temple of Venus and were favored by the goddess of art. They also came to the Temple of Juno Moneta (which is said to be the earliest mint of the Roman currency, its name was a source of the word money). In ancient Greek times, the Temples of Gods used to play the role of banks, and the earliest art displays were conducted in these temples. It seems that art and banking have long been intertwined.

Ancient Greeks and Romans developed the use of silver coins and combined it with sculptural arts. The coins could have been a flat piece of metal weighed out to represent a particular value, but these earliest people used artistic skills to decorate and beautify the money.

These continued to evolve, and during the first industrial revolution, the copy sculpture machine was invented. The art of the currency seal combined the best relief art and metal imprint technology available. Commemorative bank medals were cast in rich and varied materials including gold, silver, copper, iron, aluminum, and alloys.

The selection of themes is extensive. Because the perspectives were very diverse and the art practices innovative, many masters were interested in participating in the designs. These masters expressed their artistic interests, tastes, and emotions in the world of coin-shaped medals. At that time, Europe was at the center of global arts. There were various schools of arts preaching neo-classicalism, romanticism, impressionism, post-impressionism, modernism, cubism, and surrealism. The constant emergence of diverse artistic trends has always promoted the development of the art of painting and sculpture. It has also had a tremendous impact on the artists engaged in the creation of commemorative medals. The sculptors' exquisitely designed engraving works played an important role in the Art Nouveau movement. Many of the pioneers of sculpture art were adept at medal design and exerted their genius imagination to mobilize all artistic expressions such as oil paintings, drawings, prints, and sculptures. They have given full play to the physical properties of metals including their flexibility, extension, color, and luster. The art forms of sculpture are real and imaginary, dense and sparse, masculine and feminine. Thus the art of medals shows rich cultural, historical, practical and philosophical implications. The artists’ pursuit of perfection is maximized by their artistic charm and romantic temperament.

In the past 200 years, the art of medals was pushed to its peak. The medals have illustrious artistic value and are a concentrated expression of the level of design and casting techniques in western countries. Over the years, sculptors have created a large number of eternal artistic treasures. These medals have not only conquered us with their incredible combination of art and technology, but also with the indelible character of the metal, solidifying the financial vicissitudes of the hundred years in their physical form, and leaving us eternal historical evidence for the history of the banking industry. These famous sculpture artists include Daniel Dupuis of France, Louis Alexander Burton, Luis Oscar Rudy, Charles Piller, Frederic Weir, Lambert Du Marais, Abel Lafleur; Benjamin Wynn of the United Kingdom, Enrique Monjode of Spain, Julio Kilenyi of the United States, Pogozhelskii of Russia and others.

Although there are many fine art coins in other themes, there are very few medals with finance as their theme. Intentionally, I brought together 1,500 bank medals which involved hundreds of banks in 50 or 60 countries. After writing three books on them, I envisage the establishment of a small financial room in a museum to display these medals together. We can imagine that in the future, many bankers in other countries from around the world will be excited to find such a place in China. They will be amazed at their different banks’ commemorative medals. Many of these may be issued by the predecessors of their banks. The museum could be a silent, tranquil hall for the bankers to find their roots in history and revisit the past. They will feel the strength of a commercial culture. Knowledge is obtained by reading into items, and he who has “extensive knowledge” of the world is indeed a wise man. Here, history is no longer pages of words but stimulates genuine feelings. In the meantime, bankers could feel as if they stand at the birthplace of banking history and see its surging momentum ahead.

Writing all these articles has taken much time and effort. Taking on the responsibility of bank management, I had limited time to write these which was the most significant constraint. Thus, I used that the wisdom of the ancient people pointed out that one should make full use of time particularly at the three places: in your bed, on the toilet, and on the road.

When I was on business trips, especially when traveling long distances, I found it particularly easy to concentrate. Every time, I watched fewer on-board movies, slept fewer hours, and let myself engage in “wild fantasies in the air over 30,000 feet. I was taken away from the complexity of every business and immersed myself in the narrations and annals of financial history. I buried myself in the keyboard. I especially enjoyed these moments.

Compared with the ever-changing economic disciplines, sadly, the history of banks is particularly unpopular, and in China, there are few published books that focus on the history of banks, especially of foreign banks. Even when there are books, they focus only on a few prominent foreign banks. The study of the history of international banks lacks both depth and breadth. In historical studies, the commonly used methods are reading into ancient texts, theoretical analysis, and comprehensive investigations.

Bank history is also related to politics, economy, and the culture in history, so it is a kind of cross-disciplinary study. Due to my intermittent writing, this book is like a notebook of the history of banks and is somewhat fragmented. I tell the stories of banks and sometimes present some theoretical induction or commentary in the texts. I made particular efforts to prove the evidence on the textual research and endeavored to be accurate. In the process of writing this book, I was deeply troubled by the scarcity of Chinese materials about the history of banks around the world, so I was looking to purchase materials around the world. Fortunately, the internet has made the world smaller and accessible. I have accumulated hundreds of English versions of foreign bank history over the years. I have also created a small, singular library for future studies of foreign bank history.

Since the birth, growth, and prosperity of New China's financial industry, studying the fluctuations of world finance could provide a valuable experience for the development of Chinese banking industry. Today, China’s banking industry has become one of the biggest in world's financial sector, and ICBC is now the leader in global banks.

We can learn from the past. The development of modern banking cannot be separated from the support of historical and cultural heritage. If we forget the history of the banking industry, we will not be able to understand the present entirely and move to a stable future. It is of great significance for China to better promote the development of its modern banking industry by sorting out the world’s precious financial and cultural heritage, and discover the achievements of the monetary development created by predecessors. By reviewing the successes and failures of the financial industry, we can learn the lessons. I hope that this book will be inspiring for banking practitioners, business managers, and economic history researchers. Such is the preface.

本文来源：陆家嘴金融网综合

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