The article analyzes the scientific achievements of the classical economic school representatives of the second half of the 17th - middle of the 19th century in the field of lending through the prism of modernity. The goal of research is to study the evolution of views on the nature and role of lending by the classical school representatives of economics in the second half of 17th - mid 19th centuries. Methods of research. Both general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition were used to solve the tasks, that were set for the goal. Systematic and structured approaches, methods of generalization, analysis, comparison, synthesis, and scientific abstraction were used in the process of writing the article. Results of work. In the article had been established and analyzed the evolution of the theoretical understanding of the lending problem in the classical school of economics from the time of its foundation to the beginning of the realization of its theoretical achievements in the financial and economic space of the Russian Empire. The field of application of results. The results of the held study can be used in teaching courses in the history of economics and economic thought, as well as other economic disciplines, in the training of specialists in banking, credit and economic theory. Conclusions. The held study of the views evolution of the classical economic school representatives on the problem of lending allows us to conclude that credit as a socio-economic phenomenon has aroused significant interest of researchers. Among the main questions, that were set by scientists, were questions related to the principles of reward formation for the credit and its role in the development of the country's economy. Many researchers have paid attention to the question of the state’s place in the credit relations of the borrower and the lender. Examining the process of transformation of economic theory, we can conclude that the role of the state as a strict regulator of credit relations had gradually changed to the role of guarantor of credit obligations. A significant impetus to the development of economics in the context of understanding credit in the Russian Empire was made by M. Bunge. He has not only theoretically justified the importance of the credit availability for the development of economic relations, but also put his own scientific ideas into practice.

banks, money, economic theory, crediting, loan