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Money, Bank Credit, and Economic Cycles - The Ludwig von Mises ...

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94 <strong>Money</strong>, <strong>Bank</strong> <strong>Credit</strong>, <strong>and</strong> <strong>Economic</strong> <strong>Cycles</strong>by the medieval tradition of the glossators, which we coveredin section 3 of this chapter, <strong>and</strong> especially by the doctrinal confusionresulting from the depositum confessatum. De Soto <strong>and</strong>especially Molina view the irregular deposit as a loan in whichboth the ownership <strong>and</strong> full availability of the tantundem aretransferred to the banker. <strong>The</strong>refore, they believe the practiceof loaning deposited funds to third parties is legitimate, aslong as bankers act in a “prudent” manner. Domingo de Sotocould be considered the first to maintain this thesis, though hedid so very indirectly. In fact, in book 6, topic 11 of his work,La justicia y el derecho (On justice <strong>and</strong> law) (1556), we read thatbankers have thecustom, it is said, of being liable for a greater amount ofmoney than that deposited if a merchant makes his depositin cash. I gave the moneychanger ten thous<strong>and</strong>; so he will beliable to me for twelve, perhaps fifteen; because having cashis very profitable for the moneychanger. Neither is any evilseen in it. 96Another typical example of credit creation whichDomingo de Soto appears to accept is a loan in the form of thediscount of bills, financed using clients’ deposits.Nevertheless, the Jesuit Luis de Molina is the scholar whohas most clearly maintained an erroneous doctrine on thebank contract of monetary irregular deposit. 97 Indeed, in96 Habet autem praeterea istorum usus, ut fertur si mercatorumquispiam in cambio numeratam pecuniam deponat, campsorpro maio ri illius gratia respondeat. Numeravi campsori decemilia: fide habebo apud ipsum & creditu pro duodecim, & forfampro quim decim: qui capsori habere numerata pecuniambonum est lucrum. Neq, vero quicq vitij in hoc foedereapparet. (Domingo de Soto, De iustitia et iure [Salamanca:Andreas Portonarijs, 1556], book 6, topic 11, the only article,p. 591. Instituto de Estudios Políticos edition [Madrid, 1968],vol. 3, p. 591)Sierra Bravo (El pensamiento social y económico de la Escolástica, p. 215) isof the opinion that these words by Domingo de Soto imply his acceptanceof fractional-reserve banking.97 It is very significant that various authors, including Marjorie Grice-Hutchinson, hesitate to place Luis de Molina among the theorists of the

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