At a time when European industrial systems are experiencing varying trajectories, the issue of financing has become acute. Such issues were already observed at the end of the 19th century and during the first half of the 20th, in the context of the second, capital-hungry industrial revolution of basic steel and electrotechnical production. During this period (1880–1930), France, the UK and Germany — the pillars of this revolution — saw the development of very large industrial companies spearheading growth, though these were characterised by very significant differences in size, structure and results from one country to another.
This unique comparative analysis, conducted by an expert on bank-industry relations, highlights a factor that has been largely overlooked by current historiography: the highly variable role banks played in the financing of large companies by behaving in a specific fashion with regard to large industry in each of the three countries, and likewise how those companies accepted working with the banks.
A unique and timely perspective on interactions between capital and industry, especially given the current on-going changes in industry.
A doctor of letters and a former student of the École nationale des chartes, Philippe Marguerat is an honorary professor of modern and contemporary history at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).
Chapitre 1 / GRANDE-BRETAGNE, 1880-1913
Système financier britannique
Structures industrielles
Conclusions
Chapitre 2 / GRANDE-BRETAGNE, 1920-1930
Structures du marché financier
Marché financier et entreprises industrielles
Conclusions
Chapitre 3 / ALLEMAGNE, 1880-1913
Structure du système bancaire
Marché financier
Banques mixtes et grandes entreprises industrielles
Résultats de l'action des banques mixtes sur les structures industrielles
Conclusions
Chapitre 4 / ALLEMAGNE, 1919-1930
Immédiat après-guerre et inflation (1919-1923)
Années 1924-1930
Conclusions
Chapitre 5 / FRANCE, 1880-1913
Les grandes entreprises industrielles en France
Le système bancaire français (1880-1913) 2
Importance du financement externe pour les grandes entreprises françaises
Liens entre les banques et les grandes entreprises industrielles
Financement bancaire et structure des grandes entreprises en France
Conclusions
Chapitre 6 / FRANCE, 1919-1930
Structures bancaires
Financement et structures des grandes entreprises
Conclusions
CONCLUSION GÉNÉRALE