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Stock exchange competition: the case of Geneva during the interwar period

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2018

Kim Oosterlinck  and
Hugues Pirotte
Kim Oosterlinck*
Affiliation:
Université Libre de Bruxelles and CEPR
Hugues Pirotte
Affiliation:
Université Libre de Bruxelles
*
Corresponding author: K. Oosterlinck, Université libre de Bruxelles, SBS-EM, CEB, 50 av. Roosevelt, CP 114/03, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, [email protected].
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Abstract

Despite its importance as a financial centre, the historical literature dedicated to the Swiss financial industry remains scarce. Analyses focusing on cantons and cities of the country are even more limited in number. This is unfortunate and is, in all likelihood, linked to the reluctance of financial institutions to share information in a country where banking secrecy has been at the core of the past success of these institutions. Despite this willingness to share as little as possible, some archival funds have gradually become available, most notably after businesses went bankrupt, changed hands, or simply disappeared. The present article relies on these sources to analyse the evolution of the Geneva stock exchange during the interwar period, which saw a gradual decline of its activity. Independent brokers strived to keep their oligopoly over banks. At the same time, Swiss German banks tried to penetrate the canton-controlled marketplace by using their federal rights and strength to become unavoidable actors. They could ultimately help local bankers gain direct access to the Geneva stock exchange, obliterating the power of brokers who were left with no other choice than to appeal to the Canton of Geneva to defend their position.

Keywords

Switzerlandstock exchange competitioninterwar period

JEL classification

D40: General N24: Europe: 1913– G10: General G21: Banks • Depository Institutions • Micro Finance Institutions • Mortgages G34: Mergers • Acquisitions • Restructuring • Corporate Governance G15: International Financial Markets N44: Europe: 1913–
Type
Articles
Information
Financial History Review , Volume 25 , Issue 2 , August 2018 , pp. 183 - 201
Copyright
Copyright © European Association for Banking and Financial History e.V. 2018 

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Footnotes

The authors would like to thank two anonymous referees and the editor, Rui Esteves, for their valuable comments. We are also grateful to Maylis Avaro, Vincent Bignon, Damian Clavel, Marc Flandreau, Tobias Straumann, Stefano Ugolini, as well as the participants at the Swiss Clio Workshop (Bern, 2016) for their suggestions and comments.

References

Sources

AEG: Archives de l'État de Genève, AP 305 (Fonds Bourse de Genève).Google Scholar

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