A hundred years on Hugh Pym looks at First World War parallels with the 2008 crisis

With interest Enable notice that Hugh Pym Chief economics correspondent for BBC News has been exploring  the parallels between the 2008 crisis and the fear that gripped the city in August 1914.  Before a single shot had been fired there were he reports - queues in the City, banks raising cash in a hurry from the authorities and a rush to obtain gold – which really does sound more  like September and October 2008 than one might have imagined, back in 1914 the markets were gripped by fears of the end resulting in war.

The story which has not been talked about much in the 100 years since the outbreak of World War One is now being addressed by Hugh and makes for some interesting historical financial reading.

Even the former Bank of England Governor Mervyn, now Lord, King said at the height of the 2008 banking crisis that it was the worst since August 1914. An expert on economic history, King liked to point out that there was nothing comparable in the 1930s which many saw as the obvious parallel to the financial implosion triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

One hundred years on, the Bank of England has opened up its archives for 1914 for public viewing. The fascinating episode in economic history is set out in the ledgers kept in the vault where the authorities' massive intervention propped up the financial system and kept it afloat as Britain went to war. Perhaps Mervyn King and his colleagues consulted the archives to see how their predecessors dealt with the banking crisis of 1914 suggests Pym to find out more from Hugh Pym you can go to how close WW1 came to bankrupting Britain.

Issued by: Enable Independent Financial Life Planners
25c North Street, Bishops Stortford, Herts CM23 2LD
Telephone: 01279 755950 - Fax: 01279 657339
Enable Independent Financial Life Planners is a trading style of Enable Independent Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
It is important always to seek independent financial advice before making any decision regarding your finances. If you would like any assistance, please contact us.
NOTHING CONTAINED IN THE ARTICLES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS GIVING INDIVIDUAL FINANCIAL ADVICE