FINANCE  AND  CREDITS  289
been  a  potent  factor  in  developing  and  controlling ­
  business  along  British  channels.  Following ­
  the  pioneer  move  of  this  corporation,
other  institutions  were  organized  in  England,
until  to-day  the  amount  of  British  capital  invested ­
  in  banks  in  all  of  Latin  America  is  close
to  $500,000,000.
Realizing  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from
such  monetary  connections  in  these  countries
and  knowing  that  a  bank’s  co-operation  meant
much  to  both  the  buyer  and  seller  and  formed
perhaps  the  strongest  link  in  the  chain  of  foreign ­
  commerce  with  which  they  hoped  to
girdle  the  world,  Germany  followed  in  the
footsteps  of  England  and  opened  a  similar
series  of  institutions  in  the  same  territories,
even  going  so  far  as  to  have  branches  in  England, ­
  knowing  the  decided  preference  for
“bills  on  London.”  Through  their  offices  in
the  English  capital,  they  succeeded  in  keeping
as  much  as  possible  of  the  business  they  acquired ­
  abroad  in  their  own  hands,  reaping  all
possible  profit  from  every  transaction.  In
their  turn,  and  as  their  foreign  trade  de ­