Savings Banks and Public Credit Institutions: A Historical and Comparative Perspective

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Sebastian Kohl
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research ; Economic and Social History
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 567517662

Financial systems are essential to the functioning of modern economies, providing mechanisms for savings, credit allocation, and investment. But they also generate crises that can have strong economic and social costs. While commercial banking institutions have received considerable scholarly attention in economic history and comparative political economy (CPE), savings and public credit institutions, often supported or established by regional or central governments, remain comparatively underexplored despite their potentially pivotal role in fostering financial stability and promoting economic development. The PUB-SAV-BANK project aims at closing this gap through four distinct working packages, positioned at the intersection of economic history, empirical macro-finance, historical sociology and political economy. In working package 1, a comprehensive, international database on savings banks and public credit institutions including historical and contemporary data from many countries (OECD and beyond) since the 19th century, will be constructed. Building on this database, Working Package 2 examines how savings banks and public credit institutions respond to economic and financial crises, how this has changed over time and affected economic recovery and investment. Working Package 3 explores the diversity of financial systems and public institutions, drawing from the CPE literature and working towards a typology of financial regimes. Working Package 4 focuses on the impact of savings banks on regional economic development in France and Germany. It employs various state-of-the-art quantitative methods to assess their role in economic growth and financial development. It also maps and compares the different systems to shed light on how savings institutions had been able to channel savings to investment. Overall, PUB-SAV-BANK takes a global, long-term view of one understudied core group of institutions that make up financial systems, that is savings banks and public credit institutions. Apart from the immediate and tangible outcome of a comprehensive historical database, the project contributes to research on how financial networks influence economic activity, using modern methodologies and speaking to broader discussions on financial resilience, public banking, and state intervention in financial markets. PUB-SAV-BANK has direct implications for current financial and economic policy debates, particularly in the context of growing concerns about economic disparities, access to credit and long-term investment supporting ecological transition. In a world where financial instability and regional economic divergence remain pressing concerns, the lessons from historical savings and credit banks can inform current policy choices on financial inclusion, long-term investment and the balance between market-based and state-led financial systems.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Partner Organisation: Agence Nationale de la Recherche / The French National Research Agency
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Éric Monnet
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Sibylle Lehmann-Hasemeyer, Ph.D.