News
When banking could be a capital offense
The piece recounts the 1656 founding of Sweden’s first bank, Stockholms Banco, by Johan Palmstruch to replace heavy copper coins with paper notes. It describes the bank’s rapid growth, the issuance of credit notes, and the ensuing bank runs caused by devaluation of copper plates in 1660, leading to a crisis where deposits fell and notes traded at a discount, marking Sweden’s first bout of monetary inflation.