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The Special Credit Office established under the Ministry of Finance
5 (17) December 1824, out of the Third Division of the Minister of Finance Office, “due to the growing number of duties”, was created the Special Credit Office comprising three branches. Its first director was councillor of State F. P. Vronchenko.
The Special Credit Office was charged with the foreign and domestic credit.
The domestic credit management included: administration of any internal state loan and stock exchange operations - correspondence on the sale and repayment of loans, issue of bonds, payment of interest due, increased surveillance for exchanges, revision of exchange and brokerage statutes. Officials of the 2nd Branch Office solved the problems of admission to state-owned mortgages interest-bearing securities and other property; in their custody were pricing of interest-bearing securities for their transfer, issue of bonds by cities, private commercial and industrial companies, partnerships.
The Special Credit Office was in charge of the private credit, including the issue of bond loan by industrial joint-stock companies and cities. These loans were issued at the expense the railway fund in order to maintain and develop the factories and the mining industry, related to the railway business.
The most important part of the competence of the Special Office was the administration of the external credit: superintendence of public foreign borrowing - orders to issue, sale, conversion, redemption, payment of interest and capital on foreign loans; the realization of all foreign currency transactions - transfers of amounts abroad, including pensions and payment of debt, foreign exchange transactions with foreign banks and companies, buying gold and other precious metals, payment of foreign charges of various ministries and offices; conducting monetary policy.
In December of 1866 from the State Bank branch on foreign operations, under the Office was established the Foreign Department, whose responsibilities included conducting foreign operations (issuance of bills of exchange, letters of credit; implementation of foreign payments on behalf of various state-owned institutions, and governors of the imperial family affairs, etc.). Annual reports of the Office on foreign currency transactions were considered by the Special Committee of Finance, with the participation of the State Comptroller, and the registers of the Committee on this subject were submitted to his Majesty's discretion.
The Office was in charge of the state lending institutions: administrative and economic sector, including examination of reports, balance sheets, budgets, approval of charters for public credit institutions, the opening and closing of branches, approval of expenditures for construction and repairs, the purchase of houses, granting of loans and issue of credits out of rules, etc.
The Special Credit Office played the leading role in the securities market. With the help of the Office, the State was the guarantor of emissions of private companies. Among other things, the Credit Office was engaged in collecting taxes from money capitals.
From 1890 the Special Office was in control of the prosecution of frauds faking bank notes and securities in Russia and abroad; it did the office work of the Finance Committee and Council of Ministers on the issue of credit, the credit system and the circulation of money.
Directors of the Special Credit Office from 1824 to 1917 were: F. P. Vronchenko (December 5, 1824 - March 12, 1840), I. I. Lamansky (December 6, 1844 - October 23, 1858), Yu. A. Hagemeister (October 24, 1858 - January 12, 1862), H. P. Nebolsin (January 12, 1862 - June 14, 1863), P. I. Shamshin (June 14, 1863 - January 1, 1874), A. V. Tsimsen (February 8, 1874 - July 31, 1881), N. A. Ivanov (October 30, 1881 - January 7, 1883), V. V. Verkhovsky (January 7, 1883 - April 3, 1889), I. D. Slobodchikov (April 3, 1889 - January 31, 1892), E. D. Pleske (January 31, 1892 - July 18, 1894 ), B. F. Maleshevsky (July 18, 1894 - 1908), L. F. Davydov (March 24, 1908 - 1913), D. I. Nikiforov (February 17, 1914 – December 19, 1916), S. G. Feodosiyev (October 10, 1916 - November 30, 1916), K. E. Zamen (December 19, 1916 - November 11, 1917).
After the October Revolution, the Special Credit Office was taken over by the Peoples’ Commissariat of Finance.
Lit.: Высшие и центральные государственные учреждения России. 1801-1917. Т. 2. СПб., 2001.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Министерство финансов. 1802-1902. СПб., 1902. Ч. 1;