The old-fashioned provincial banker who was familiar with local business conditions and prospective borrowers, like the fictional character described earlier, had less need for formal credit analysis. Instead, the intuitive judgment that came from an in-depth knowledge of a community and its members was an invaluable attribute in the banking industry. The traditional banker knew with whom he was dealing (or thought he did), either locally with his customers or at a distance with correspondent banks20 that he trusted. Walter Bagehot, the nineteenth-century British economic commentator put it well

这位熟悉当地商业状况和潜在借款人的老式省级银行家，就像前面描述的虚构人物一样，不太需要进行正式的信贷分析。取而代之的是，来自于对社区及其成员的深入了解的直觉判断是银行业的一个无价属性。传统的银行家知道他在和谁打交道（或者认为他知道），或者在当地与客户打交道，或者在与他信任的代理银行保持一定距离。19世纪英国经济评论员沃尔特·巴格霍特（Walter Bagehot）说得很好