Banks became more important for financing industrial growth, as entrepreneurs and business owners needed more capital. The Bank of England was created in 1694 to fund wars, and was given a monopoly on joint stock banking in 1708.

https://www.thoughtco.com/development-of-banking-the-industr...

Once the great minds of the country understood that there are easier ways of multiplying their wealth (trade, colonisation, wars..), one can imagine the shift in their priorities - from investment in engineering to financing agents of wealth creation.