Émile Moreau (29 September 1868 – 9 November 1950) was a French banker who served as Governor of the Bank of France from 1926 to 1930 and chairman of

Paribas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (, ), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas (), was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. History Background In the ...

from 1931 to 1940. After retiring from his role as governor he took a job in a private bank. His contribution to the Poincare Stabilization helped the French Franc to gain credibility in the 1920s following the Russian Default post the Bolshevik Revolution. As pointed out in his memoirs, Emile Moreau took active measures to increase French influence in Eastern Europe. It was under his governorship that French Money Doctors were sent to Romania as advisors.

Finance Ministry

In 1902, French Finance Minister

Maurice Rouvier Maurice Rouvier (; 17 April 1842 – 7 June 1911) was a French statesman of the "Opportunist" faction, who twice served as the Prime Minister of France. He is best known for his financial policies and his unpopular policies designed to avoid a r ...

chose Moreau as his . He served numerous positions within the French civil service, including was

Inspector General of Finance Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...

in 1896, Chief of Staff of the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

in 1902, and Director General of the

Banque de l'Algérie The Banque de l'Algérie (), from 1949 to 1958 Banque de l'Algérie et de la Tunisie (), was a French bank created in 1851, that operated as the central bank for French Algeria and, from 1904, also for the French protectorate of Tunisia until ...

. While at the Ministry of Finance, he presided over an international community that would oversee the repayment of debts from the First World War.

Banque de France

Moreau was the Governor of the Banque de France from 1926 to 1930. The preceding years were marked by hyperinflation in Germany and contention over the German reparation issue. As such, he led efforts at the Bank for the stabilization of the Poincaré franc in 1926 and was an avid supporter of de facto devaluation. This involved a negotiation with several international banking firms for a loan that would allow the Bank to defend the franc from severe exchange-rate fluctuations. Moreau also advocated the accumulation of gold reserves in the years leading up to the Great Depression, as well as create a stabilization fund (''fonds de stabilisation''). He sought to establish the Banque de France as an international leader in

monetary policy Monetary policy is the policy adopted by the monetary authority of a nation to affect monetary and other financial conditions to accomplish broader objectives like high employment and price stability (normally interpreted as a low and stable rat ...

, comparable to the likes of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

and the

Reichsbank The ''Reichsbank'' (; ) was the central bank of the German Empire from 1876 until the end of Nazi Germany in 1945. Background The monetary institutions in Germany had been unsuited for its economic development for several decades before unifica ...

. Moreau retired in 1930 and was succeeded by Clément Moret. In 1935 he became the chairman of the State Bank of Morocco.

Finance Ministry

Banque de France

References

Further reading