It is now 95 years since the first edition of The Banker rolled off the printing presses. And while much has changed in the world of banking since then, looking back through the archives it is difficult not to stumble over recurring themes and challenges. Certainly, much of the day-to-day business of banking has completely transformed compared to in 1926.
One of the first-ever contributors to The Banker wrote in the first issue of how the predominant business of banking was managing current accounts and cheque payments — a relatively reductive definition even by 1920s standards, which clearly would not pass muster now. It would be difficult to identify an area of banking which has not been revolutionised by technological advances, particularly in more recent decades. And who knows what will come next?
Outside of the nuts and bolts of the industry, The Banker has also always had a focus on the global issues driving, or indeed compromising, international trade and economic activity. Reflecting on this coverage over the past almost-century it is difficult to avoid the adage that history does not repeat, but it often rhymes. Much has moved on in terms international financial co-operation — one need look no further than central bank coordination back in March 2020 at the height of Covid-19-induced market dislocation, or the extent to which the Basel regulatory framework has developed for the evidence. But, nonetheless, a background noise of trade disputes and push/pull of economic protectionism versus freer trade has been a relative constant throughout, with US-China wrangling and EU-UK negotiations just two very recent examples.
One thing is for certain, there is unlikely to be a shortage of material to cover over the next nine and a half decades.
