Moscow as the All-Russian Credit Market: statistical and geoinformation analysis of the operations of the Moscow branch of the St. Petersburg International Commercial Bank in 1900

The aim of this article is to explore the role of the Russian capital’s credit market in lending to regional businesses, citing the Moscow branch of the St Petersburg International Commercial Bank as an example of a commercial bank that provides services such as loans and cash credit. The research is based on the branch’s promissory note book for 1900 from the bank's archive at the Central State Archive in Moscow. This document records customer lending transactions, specifically data on promissory notes purchased by the bank branch for its customers. The emphasis is on the geographical aspects of lending, such as the places where bills were issued and settled, considering the industrial composition of the clients and the relationships between the largest clients and among themselves. To achieve a comprehensive analysis we used relational database technology alongside statistical and geoinformation analysis methods throughout this study. As a result, we demonstrated that business transactions were conducted on credit in the regions in the form of promissory notes in 242 settlements. These bills subsequently came to Moscow, where the bank purchased them, enabling entrepreneurs, firms and companies to access funds ahead of the due date indicated on the bill. The priority was given to large companies associated with the bank, which are involved in the oil industry (production, refining, transportation, and trade), as well as metallurgy and mechanical engineering. However, the funds available from the Moscow money market allowed for a much broader range of clients across various sectors of trade, industry and services. This development led to Moscow becoming a central point for interaction between the bank and its clients who were spread across the country.