Dr Paul Kosmetatos Scottish Banking and the 1772-1773 Banking Crisis

The 1772-1773 credit crisis, with its disproportionately severe impact in Scotland highlighted by the collapse of the large and ambitious Ayr Bank (Douglas, Heron & Co.) has always struck a contrarian note to this last part of the argument.

In this lecture Paul Kosmetatos, focusing on the crisis of 1772-1773, seeks to refute the case that free banking was a robust form of commercial banking capable of operating without a Lender of Last Resort.

Dr. Paul Kosmetatos is a former structured derivatives trader in the City of London. After twelve years in The City he studied for a PhD in Financial History at The University of Cambridge. Dr. Kosmetatos is now a Lecturer in International Economic History at the University of Edinburgh.