Crediting is one of the most effective methods of development and support of the industrial enterprises.

The State bank of Russian empire which was guided in its activity, besides other things, mainly on crediting large-scale industry, long ignored Novgorod province. The Novgorod department of the State Bank was opened only in 1895 - in 35 years after the founding the main bank (1860). In Cherepovets the bank department was established even later - in 1911. However, departments of the State bank were formed far not in each provincial city.

In 1900-1910 the bank management already absolutely clearly understood potential opportunities of the Novgorod office, most of all because of a poor development of the industry. The main attention was paid mainly to crediting trade: "... The credits here are distributed among different branches of the trade, the first place is taken by the credits, opened to timber merchants, there are 45 such credits in the amount of 538,0 thousand rubles, the second place is taken by grain dealers who possess 15 credits in the amount of 53 thousand rubles, from 1 to 5 credits are opened to other branches of trade.

... Of all the plants and factories of 4 brick, 2 mechanical... 1 (brewing), 1 (oil milling), 1 (chem)ical[1], and 3 (porcelain) and glass plants are loaned the credit. Among the last there is the plant of Kuznetsov, which has the credit of 400 thousand rubles - the only big credit of the department" (1906). [2]

At 1908 only 110 persons, who had the credit in the Novgorod office of the State bank, 97 were engaged in trade operations and only 13 were manufacturers: in chemical and cosmetic production - 1; in output of glass, porcelain, brick and pottery - 5; in cars and processing of metals - 2; typographical and lithographic services - 1, etc. The large credits - the sum of 447 thousand rubles (400 thousand rubles of them - for E.I. Kuznetsov) was allotted to ceramic and glass plants, the rest - ones had no more than 2-3 thousand rubles. At the same time, to businessmen the Novgorod office allotted the credit in the following sizes: to dealers in the wood and building materials - to 44 ones credit on 551 thousand rubles; in bread and flour - to 13 of them in 90,5 thousand; in colonial and grocery goods - to 7 of them in 28 thousand; in leather and saddleries output - to 8 dealers in 18 thousand; in fish goods - to 2 dealers in 15 thousand, etc., approx. about 900 thousand rubles [3].

For 1901-1914 by the Novgorod office from 1 million 952 thousand rubles of loans for the various purposes to the industrial enterprises it was given out only 21 thousand, at the same time establishments of the small credit - 1 million 69 thousand rubles, to (rural) owners - 161 thousand, to handicraftsmen - 33, for acquisition of agricultural cars - 23, to intermediaries - 636 thousand rubles [4].

The situation with the distribution of the credits in Cherepovets office of the State Bank in 1915 in fact repeated the Novgorod one: one for the industrial enterprises out of 122 credits (in 847 thousand rubles) it was opened only 6 (in 119 thousand rubles): for leather plant - 10 thousand rubles, for brewery - 3 thousand, for cranberry plant - 2 thousand, a for steam-and-water mill - 4 thousand, for cardboard factory - 75 thousand, for shoe factory - 25 thousand rubles. 116 credits of 728 thousand rubles were allotted for trade: for the grain - to 33 plants in 191 thousand rubles, for timber industry - 26 on 218 thousand, for tanning - to 15 plants on 92 thousand, for manufactory - 9 on 37 thousand, for butter products - 7 on 52 thousand, for boat industrial - 6 on 50,5 thousand, for mixed industry- 4 in 25 thousand, for iron - 4 on 20,5 thousand, for wine trade - 2 on 15 thousand, for fish trade - 2 on 3 thousand rubles, etc. [5]

So, it is the traders, not the manufacturers were the largest group of clients, who had the credit in these offices of the State Bank. The number of factories and the plants of the Novgorod province possessing the credit in two local offices of the bank, in general, was insignificant - about 20 of, a hundred, operating on the Novgorod province at the beginning of the XX century. Some credits to the industrial enterprises were allotted by local city public banks, but both in total were also insignificant.

2 – The Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA). Archive fund (F). 587. Archival inventory (Inv). 33. Storage unit (Un). 1070. About audit of the Novgorod department of State bank. Sheet (S). 31-31.

3 – RGIA. F. 587. Inv. 33. Un. 1071. About audit of the Novgorod department... S. 108.

4 – It is made on: State bank. Data on offices and departments for 1901-1910 and 1905-1914. St-Peterburg, 1912 and Petrograd, 1915. P. 25-28.

5 – RGIA. F. 587. Inv. 33. Un. 1141. About audit of Cherepovets department of State bank. S. 21-23.