How did Italian banking ventures fare in interwar Eastern Europe? This article explores the multinational investment activities of Banca Commerciale Italiana, a prominent Italian universal bank, in Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania during the interwar period. It examines whether universal banking principles applied to Italian multinational investments in the region. The article refrains from analyzing the 1930s financial crisis or Italian universal banking per se, instead investigating the relationship between Banca Commerciale Italiana’s activities and universal banking challenges in the early 1930s. Evidence suggests that the bank’s withdrawal from the region, beginning in the late 1920s, was more a consequence of managerial shortcomings and poor investment decisions than a direct result of the crisis. These insights offer a nuanced perspective on the factors influencing multinational banking success in interwar Eastern Europe.
| Category | Category Repetition |
|---|---|
| History (General) and history of Europe: History of Eastern Europe | 1 |
| History (General) and history of Europe: History (General) | 1 |