to boost their domestic performance, causing major declines in world trade. Drivers of Eurocurrency in the 1950s By mid-1955, US and foreign businesses and nations were regularly using Eurodollars to hold US-dollar balances or obtain US-dollar denominated loans outside of the US. The eurocurrency market was birthed organically from the rise of the Eurodollar. Ultimately, there was multiple causes for the rise of the Eurodollar which lead to the creation of Eurocurrency. Firstly, large holdings of US dollars entered Europe shortly after WW2. This was a result of the fixed exchange rate system that lead to more countries using US dollars for trade, as well as increased imports into the US itself from Europe. Moreover, the US provided economic aid to European nations after WW2 in the form of damage assistance under the US governments' Marshall Plan. Secondly, after WW2 communist governments including the Soviet Union and China transferred their holdings held in the US over to European banks. This is believed to have been done for two primary reasons; (1) over fears that US authorities will seize their assets, and (2) to accumulated goodwill with Eurobanks as a strategy to nurture a future source of loans and funding. Thirdly, the 1957 sterling crises forced the UK's strongest movement toward alignment with the Bretton Woods plan. Here, the Bank of England banned sterling-financed trade for non-sterling countries as a result of a sharp increase in the bank rate to 7%, compelling London-based banks to join the rest of the world and use dollars for trade. This alongside the demand for other types of eurocurrencies outside of their home markets lead to the innovation of the eurocurrency market. Competitive Advantage of London The inception of eurocurrency occurred in London with the introduction of the Eurodollar in 1955. Even after eurocurrency had expanded globally however, London maintained its position as the centre of the Eurodollar market which is still true of today. Economists provide disputed explanations for why London was able to gain and maintain this competitive advantage. Ronald McKinnon theorised that it was attributed to London's pre-existing foreign financing expertise retained from Britain's dominant trade history in the 19th Century and servings as the centre of the sterling when it was a major international currency. However, criticisms of this theory deemed it "rather static and deterministic" and lacking any archival evidence. McKinnon also emphasised the regulatory freedom provided to commercial banks