During the first globalization era (1874-1913)—free banking entry, fixed exchange rates, large capital flows—there were only about four major banking crises (Argentina 1890, Australia 1893, Norway 1900, Italy 1893), all sharing government-policy distortions, whereas from 1978 to the present there have been roughly 140 major banking crises, with about 20 of them larger than the two biggest pre-1913 crises.