The Banc de Barcelona, promoted by Manuel Girona in 1844, was the prime exponent of the new Catalan commercial banking system. Legislation in 1856 led to the appearance of credit companies, but the country's limited resources and the size of its companies meant that powerful banks did not emerge. The banks were mainly small and medium-sized and were owned by families, which restricted the capitalisation of industry. Savings banks encouraged workers to save, enabling them to set money aside for sickness or old age. The urge to invest came to a halt with the stock market crisis of 1866.