Finance & History

In this episode, Carmen Hofmann (eabh) speaks with M. Fatih Karakaya (Istanbul University) about the historical development of consumer finance in Turkey from the early Republic to the present day. Drawing on archival research, they explore how instalment payments, retailer credit, and bank-led lending evolved within Turkey's distinctive economic and political context. Far from simply importing Anglo-American credit card models, Turkey built on a long tradition of "buy now, pay later" practices that stretched from Ottoman-era Singer sewing machines to the instalment plans of major household appliance manufacturers. The conversation examines how these historical legacies shaped modern consumer finance, what makes the Turkish experience unique, and what it can teach us about credit markets more broadly.

Did bankers understand uncertainty better before financial models?
In this episode we explore a question at the heart of finance: what is risk, really? Long before VaR models, stress tests, and algorithmic finance, bankers managed uncertainty through reputation, relationships, and social trust. Were they naïve—or were they, in some ways, more realistic than we are?
In this episode of Finance & History, Carmen Hofmann speaks with economic historian Monika Pohle Fraser about how nineteenth-century French and German bankers managed risk before modern models existed.
Drawing on archival evidence, the conversation explores a provocative idea: that trust, reputation, and social judgment often mattered more than quantitative information—and may still do today.
From universal banking and bourgeois honor to AI-driven finance, the episode asks whether modern risk management is built on better information… or simply more sophisticated fictions of certainty.

How post-war finance remade Europe.

In this episode, host Carmen Hofmann speaks with historian Tobias Straumann about his book Hitler’s Debt and the financial decisions that shaped Europe’s post-war recovery.
We explore how settling Hitler’s unresolved debts, the 1953 London Debt Agreement, and bold U.S. policy choices helped turn a devastated continent into the “economic miracle” of the 1950s. Straumann explains why debt relief strengthened democracy, how leaders like Adenauer, Acheson, Schuman, Ben-Gurion and Sharett navigated moral and political dilemmas, and what the German case can teach us about today’s global debt crises.
A concise look at how financial strategy, diplomacy, and compromise built the foundations of modern Europe — and why those foundations matter now more than ever.

Hugo Bänziger (Chairman of eabh) and Manfred Pohl (founder of eabh) come together for a rare conversation between two of the most experienced banking historians. They explore key milestones in Germany’s financial history after World War II, highlighting the crucial role of rebuilding the financial system as the foundation for national recovery.
Their discussion also uncovers historical patterns—from the strategic eastward moves of emperors to Western Europe’s enduring quest for oil. Both experts emphasize a central point: just as nations must confront their histories—whether bright or dark—so too must companies face their past with honesty and precision if they wish to build a credible future.
🎧 Tune in (in German) for this unparalleled insight into finance, history, and memory.

Capital Matters: Banking, Risk, and History

In this episode, Carmen Hofmann (eabh) speaks with Simon Amrein (Lucerne) about the role of capital in banking—past and present.
They explore how banks have historically been funded, whether excessive leverage has made them fragile, and whether more capital really makes banks safer. The conversation touches on the functions and forms of capital, the trade-offs between safety and efficiency, and how capital helps prevent bank runs. They also reflect on how the post-WWII effort to rebuild economies reshaped global attitudes toward financial risk and regulation.