“The implicit and explicit embedding of derivative features was common in the types of securities traded in the 15th to 18th centuries. Examples of such securities include: claims on the Florentine mons that had a provision for redemption at 28% of par, though that provision was seldom exercised; bills of exchange that combined a loan with a forward exchange contract; and life annuities that featured terms to maturity dependent on specific life contingency provisions.”
“The tale begins with the formation of The Transvaal Mortgage, Loan & Finance Company, Limited on 6th February 1889. As this account reveals, the ‘mortgage and loan company’ years between 1889 and 1964 included testing times and indeed spells when survival was paramount. The company did prevail, however, and has overcome every crisis and conflict for more than 125 years.”
“Despite the rich literature on the history of slavery, the scholarship on bank financing of slavery is quite slim. My research demonstrates that commercial banks were willing to accept slaves as collateral for loans and as a part of loans assigned over to them from a third party. Many helped underwrite the sale of slaves, using them as collateral. They were willing to sell slaves as part of foreclosure proceedings on anyone who failed to fulfill a debt contract.”
