4 In the 18th century, the size of the balance sheet of banknote-issuing central banks, such as the Bank of  England or the Caisse d’ Escompte, easily surpassed that of their older cousins in Amsterdam and Hamburg, which continued to rely exclusively on deposits 5 See, for example, Bindseil, op.cit. ; and Schnabel, I. and H.S.
And indeed, it is hard to imagine that the highly indebted countries in Europe will be able to successfully put their public finances on sustainable footings if their growths remain stagnant. From this perspective, global financial resources may have in recent years been directed too much toward the financing of unsustainable fiscal deficits in debt-ridden countries, and too little toward growth.