Banques départementales

All nine banques départementales were wiped out in the financial crisis of early 1848, paving the way for the Bank of France to be granted a national monopoly on note issuance later that year.

At its creation in 1800, the Bank of France's geographical scope of activity was limited to Paris and its immediate surroundings.

Until the mid-1830s, the Bank of France had not opposed the banques départementales,[5]: 42  but in 1836 it started establishing its own competing local comptoirs, of which it had fourteen by early 1848.

[7]: 865  It also lobbied the French government in favor of a nationwide expansion of its issuance privilege, arguing that it was the only bank with the financial strength to support the national treasury in the event of a crisis.

[7]: 864  The Second Republic's decrees of 27 April and 2 May 1848 consequently mandated the absorption of the banques départementales and their staff into the Bank of France, for which they became local branches.