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Graham Ford Towers was born in Montréal, Québec, on 29 September 1897. He was appointed first Governor of the Bank of Canada effective 8 September 1934. Mr. Towers was also Chairman, Foreign Exchange Control Board, 1939-1951; Chairman, National War Finance Committee, 1943-1945; President, Industrial Development Bank; and Alternate Executive Director for Canada of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. He retired 31 December 1954. Mr. Towers died 4 December 1975.

The fonds consists of correspondence, memoranda, speeches, photographs, a diary, scrapbooks, and memorabilia. Records include information relating to gold, post-war currency plans, war financing, and international financing.

James Elliot Coyne was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 17 July 1910. He was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada effective 1 January 1955. He was the President of the Industrial Development Bank. During his career he held several important posts, including: Secretary, Foreign Exchange Control Board, 1939-1941; Financial Attaché, Canadian Embassy Washington, 1941; Assistant to the Chairman and then Chairman, Wartime Prices and Trade Board, 1941-1942. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force 1942-1944. Mr. Coyne resigned as Governor and retired from the Bank in 1961.

The Coyne Collection contains several series of minutes, correspondence, speeches, memoranda, and newspaper clippings.

Louis Rasminsky was born in Montréal, Québec, in 1908. He was appointed Governor of the Bank effective 24 July 1961. During his career he held the following important posts: Alternate Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Foreign Exchange Control Board, 1942; Executive Assistant to the Governors of the Bank 1943-1954; Member of the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations Organization founding conference and participant in the first meetings of the UN Assembly and the Economic and Social Council 1945-1946; Member of the original Board of the International Monetary Fund, serving in this capacity from 1946 to 1961; Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, 1950-1962. He was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank in 1955 and Governor in 1961. Mr. Rasminsky resigned 1 February 1973. He was Chairman of the Board of the International Development Research Centre, 1973-1977. Mr. Rasminsky died 15 September 1998.

The fonds consists of correspondence, memoranda, reports, pamphlets, speeches, photographs, and newspaper clippings on international economic affairs and central banking.

Foreign exchange control was imposed in Canada at the outbreak of World War II to maintain exchange stability and to conserve exchange resources. Foreign exchange control was abolished 14 December 1951 and the board was disbanded.

The fonds includes annual reports, minutes of meetings, correspondence, memoranda, newspaper clippings, and speeches.

The Industrial Development Bank was established by an Act of Parliament in 1944 to "promote the economic welfare of Canada by increasing the effectiveness of monetary action through assuring the availability of credit to industrial enterprises." In 1974, the Industrial Development Bank became the Federal Business Development Bank (now the Business Development Bank) at which time it ceased to be a subsidiary of the Bank of Canada.

The fonds consists of Board of Directors' agendas, annual reports, bylaws, correspondence, and memoranda.

The National War Finance Committee was established by the Minister of Finance to organize, advertise, and conduct all public loans campaigns used to finance Canada's war effort during World War II. Graham Towers, the Bank of Canada's first Governor, was Chair of the National War Finance Committee.

The fonds consists of correspondence, minutes of meetings, posters, scrapbooks, films, and sound recordings.