From what has been said in the foregoing chapters it will have been seen that banking experience in the different countries of the world has evolved several types of banking systems. Writers on banking sometimes speak as if there were one kind or character of banking system which is more "scientific" than another, or as if the evolution of banking had pointed definitely to some single type of organization which was regarded as the most desirable or perfect. Much of this kind of suggestion has often been given to the public in the course of banking "reform" or monetary "education" movements. There is no foundation for the supposition that one kind of banking organization is necessarily better than another. Banking, like other phases of business organization, is closely related to the business community in which it exists, and depends much for its efficiency and success upon its adaptation to local customs. It is not even true that the so-called banking principles relating to liquidity, short-term loans, reserves, etc., have any universal force. They depend entirely upon the general conditions upon which banks operate, the demands of the community in which they are situated, and other factors. So, in developing a system of banking the essential test of its satisfactori-ness is found in adaptation to conditions. It is, therefore, true that banking systems throughout the world differ very widely from one another, and they must be judged by their adaptability and success in practice.

From a broad general standpoint, however, it is possible to recognize several types of banking systems. Looked at from the point of view of the legal basis or status in the matter of organization, three chief groups may be recognized, as follows:

(1) The central banking systems, of which the banks of England, France, and others of similar kind are the best examples;

(2) The independent-charter banking systems, of which the Canadian bank is probably the best known; and

(3) The free banking systems, best represented by the national banking system of the United States.