Émile Moreau (banker)

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Émile Moreau
Paris, France
NationalityFrench

Émile Moreau (September 29, 1868 – November 9, 1950) was

Governor of the Banque de France from 1926 to 1930 and chairman of Paribas from 1931 to 1940. After retiring from his role as governor he took a job in a private bank. His contribution to the Poincare Stabilization helped the French Franc to gain credibility in the 1920s following the Russian Default post the Bolshevik Revolution. As pointed out in his memoirs,[1] Emile Moreau took active measures to increase French influence in Eastern Europe. It was under his governorship that French Money Doctors were sent to Romania as advisors.[2]

Finance Ministry

In 1902 French Finance Minister

Minister of Finance in 1902, and Director General of the Banque de l'Algérie
. While at the Ministry of Finance, he presided over an international community that would oversee the repayment of debts from the First World War.

Banque de France

Moreau was the

Governor of the Banque de France from 1926 to 1930. The preceding years were marked by hyperinflation in Germany and contention over the German reparation issue. As such, he led efforts at the Bank for the stabilization of the Poincaré franc in 1926 and was an avid supporter of de facto devaluation.[3] This involved a negotiation with several international banking firms for a loan that would allow the Bank to defend the franc from severe exchange-rate fluctuations.[4] Moreau also advocated the accumulation of gold reserves in the years leading up to the Great Depression, as well as create a stabilization fund (fonds de stabilisation). He sought to establish the Banque de France as an international leader in monetary policy, comparable to the likes of the Bank of England and the Reichsbank.[5]

Moreau retired in 1930 and was succeeded by Clément Moret. In 1935 he became the chairman of the State Bank of Morocco.

References

  1. ^ Moreau Emile, (1954), Souvenirs d'un Gouverneur de la Banque de France. Histoire de la stabilisation du Franc (1926-1928), Editions Genin, Paris
  2. ^ Torre, Dominique. "Charles Rist and the French missions in Romania, 1929-1933. Why the "Money Doctors" failed?" (PDF). National Bank of Serbia. Fourth Conference of Southeast Europe Monetary History Network.
  3. .
  4. ^ Yee, Robert. "The Bank of France and the Gold Dependency: Observations on the Bank's Weekly Balance Sheets and Reserves, 1898-1940" (PDF). Studies in Applied Economics. Johns Hopkins University.
  5. ^ Pease, Neal (1986). Poland, the United States, and the Stabilization of Europe, 1919-1933. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 87.

Further reading