Banks and insurance did lots of shit on a "gold standard", but any sizeable amount of money they didnt pay in gold as they didnt have it. Same as today... Eg... In 1909, General Motors founder William Durant offered Henry Ford $8 million to buy Ford Motor Company. Ford agreed but told his associate James Couzens: "All right, but gold on the table" - meaning he wanted cash payment, not stock or promises. Durant's bankers refused to provide the financing, and the deal collapsed