For example, the United Kingdom experienced repeated financial crises in the latter half of the 19th century. Its central bank – the BOE – was expected to play the role of preventing disturbance in the financial system as a whole by providing liquidity as a “lender of last resort” to financial institutions on the verge of a crisis.
In the United States, the Federal Reserve System was established with the aim of resolving financial system instability, based on the lesson learned from successive financial crises from the end of the 19th century into the early 20th century. This well represents the thinking at the time of the role central banks should play on the financial system front.