The Reichsbank and the Bundesbank: the legacy of the German tradition of central banking

The chapter examines the changing experiences of German central banking with respect to political independence, and to issues such as lender of last resort actions with regard to the domestic banking system as well as to price stability. It also examines the role of foreign central bank models—of the 1844 British Bank Act on the creation of the first German central bank, or British and American central banking on the refounding of the Reichsbank after the interwar hyperinflation, and the Allied influence on the creation of the Bank Deutscher LA¤nder (the predecessor of the Bundesbank). In addition, there is a discussion of how German central banking history and experiences influenced European thinking and helped to shape European Monetary Union.