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

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

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Attempts to Legally Justify Fractional-Reserve <strong>Bank</strong>ing 129whenever the depositary, with the consent of the depositor,uses the goods deposited, either for himself or his businessactivities, or in operations ordered by the depositor, therights <strong>and</strong> obligations of depositor <strong>and</strong> depositary shallcease, in favor of the rules <strong>and</strong> provisions applicable to thecommercial loan, the commission or the contract carried outinstead of the deposit.It seems, therefore, that some parallels exist between Article309 of the Spanish Commercial Code <strong>and</strong> Article 1768 ofthe Civil Code. However, Article 307 of the Commercial Code,which regulates cash deposits, states thatwhen cash deposits are made in unmarked currency or in anopen, unsealed package, the depositary shall be responsiblefor their preservation <strong>and</strong> safety according to the termsestablished in paragraph 2 of Article 306.And Article 306, paragraph 2 reads as follows:in the safekeeping of deposits, the depositary shall beaccountable for any damage to the deposited goods resultingfrom malice or negligence, as well as from the nature of thegoods or defects in them, if in such cases he fails to take necessarymeasures to avoid or repair the damage, notifying thedepositor as soon as the damage becomes obvious. (Italics added)Thus, if we consider the last paragraph of Article 307together with the second paragraph of Article 306, the SpanishCommercial Code itself fully allows for the concept of themonetary irregular deposit contract <strong>and</strong> imposes a very clearsafekeeping obligation on the depositary in the depositor’sfavor, <strong>and</strong> even requires that, should any damage occur to thefungible money deposited, the depositary immediately notifythe depositor. Nevertheless, Article 310 of the CommercialCode grants bankers a statutory privilege which legalizes theappropriation of funds deposited with them. This article specifiesthatregardless of the provisions laid down in the preceding articles,deposits made in banks, public warehouses, credit associationsor any other company shall be governed first by that

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