Calvin's Institutio (Basel 1536) and the Reformed Ethics of Credit — conclusion

Conclusion

Jean Calvin, a French refugee, wrote the first edition of his Institutio in Basel, where it was printed in March 1536 by Thomas Platter and Balthasar Lasius. A few months later, he settled in Geneva, where he shaped the Reformed church and its moral and economic order. His letter on usury, written around 1545, rejected the traditional arguments against interest and set out conditions under which interest was lawful: no interest from the poor, moderate rates within the legal maximum, the service of the common good and the rule of equity. Geneva translated these views into a regulated maximum rate. Basel, whose council had fixed a maximum of five per cent for rents and whose jurist Bonifacius Amerbach advised on questions of interest, followed a similar practice.

The Reformed ethics of credit, which combined the legitimation of interest with its regulation, is the ancestor of the modern law of credit, with its prohibition of usury, its maximum rates for consumer credit and its default rate of five per cent. Max Weber's thesis on the Protestant ethic, much debated, fits Basel in several respects. Sebastian Castellio's plea for tolerance, written in Basel against Calvin's execution of Servetus, and Calvin's doctrine of stewardship, which anticipates the modern concept of fiduciary duty, belong to the moral foundations of a financial centre. The next chapter turns to the refugees who brought capital and industries to Basel.

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of August 2025.