Financial panic - Finanzkrise German

A financial panic occurs when a sudden collapse in credit relationships causes a general blockage of financial transactions, forcing many financial institutions to suspend operations or go bankrupt, and prices on the stock exchange plummet, resulting in a financial collapse. A financial panic occurs as a result of the difficulty of realizing the reproduction process due to overproduction, or as a result of external factors that disrupt circulation, such as civil war, war, or natural disasters, and includes a series of events. For example, the expansion of credit transactions to facilitate various payments during a period of prosperity may lead to a deterioration in profits, production halts, and inability to pay as overproduction becomes apparent, causing commercial credit to collapse (credit panic), many companies to face bankruptcy, and the demand for cash to make payments to increase. However, this unsoundness makes banks unable to lend, and money as a means of payment is not supplied (monet panic). Due to delays in refunding loans, banks become even more unable to collect on their loans, and the liquidity of their assets worsens. On the other hand, there is a sudden rush to withdraw deposits (runs), which leads to the suspension of payments and mass bankruptcies (bank panics), causing severe confusion throughout the financial system. The prices of securities such as stocks and bonds also plummet (stock exchange panics), further intensifying the confusion within the financial system. Under the gold standard, the specie reserves are depleted due to the successive demands for convertibility of banknotes, which leads to a suspension of convertibility of banknotes, and then the external response to the outflow of gold leads to a suspension of gold convertibility and the need to secure gold reserves (currency standard panic). As described above, a financial panic follows a series of steps, but its occurrence is often triggered by a tightening of bank credit during an economic upswing, and is often caused by a reversal. Financial panics were a typical occurrence under the gold standard, when the monetized issuance system was dominant, but under the managed currency system that followed World War II, financial panics became relatively rare domestically.

[Kaido Katsutoshi]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

信用関係の急激な崩壊によって金融取引が全般的に梗塞(こうそく)し、多数の金融機関が業務を停止するか倒産に追い込まれ、また証券取引所での相場も急落し、金融的崩壊をもたらす恐慌をいう。金融恐慌は、過剰生産による再生産過程の実現の困難や、内乱、戦争、天災など外的要因の流通攪乱(かくらん)の結果おこり、一連の経過を含むものである。たとえば、好況期の諸支払い円滑化のための信用取引拡大が、過剰生産の顕在化とともに、収益悪化、生産停止、支払い不能となり、商業信用が崩壊（信用恐慌）して多数の企業が破局に直面し、支払いのための現金需要が増大する。しかし、その不健全さは銀行の融通不能となり、支払い手段の貨幣は供給されない（貨幣恐慌）。銀行では貸付還流の遅れから、さらに回収不能に陥り、銀行の資産流動化が悪化し、他方、急激な預金引出し殺到（取付け）がおこり、支払い停止、銀行の大量倒産となり（銀行恐慌）、金融組織全般に激しい混乱がおこる。また株式や社債などの有価証券の相場が暴落し（取引所恐慌）、金融組織の混乱はいっそう強まる。金本位制のもとでは銀行券兌換(だかん)請求の続出によって正貨準備が枯渇し、兌換停止となり、対外的にも金流出に対応するため金兌換停止、金準備の確保に発展する（本位貨恐慌）。以上のように金融恐慌は一連の過程をとるが、その発生は景気上昇過程での銀行の信用引締めに端を発し、逆転して生ずる場合も多い。かつての通貨主義的発券制度が支配的であった金本位制のもとにおいては金融恐慌が典型的な形で現れたが、第二次世界大戦後の管理通貨制のもとでは国内的には金融恐慌は比較的まれになった。

［海道勝稔］

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