Relationship Banking and corporate governance in the Kaiserreich

Abstract

This paper focuses on the institution of interlocking directorates between universal banks and industrial firms in the Kaiserreich (1871-1914) and demonstrates that such formalized relationships were unusual prior to 1900. The investigation indicates further that there was a marked increase in bank representation at firms-both in the share of firms involved in such relationships and in the number of joint directors-around the turn of the century. Finally, the work suggest a number of explanations for the pattern of bank relationships that emerges.