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Interlocking directorates and conflicts of interest: the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging, M�ller & Co. and the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s

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  • Christopher L. Colvin

Abstract

How can interlocking directorates cause financial instability for universal banks? A detailed history of the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeninging in the 1920s answers this question in a case study. This large commercial bank adopted a new German-style universal banking business model from the early 1910s, sharing directors with the firms it financed as a means of controlling its interests. Then, in 1924, it required assistance from the Dutch state in order to survive a bank run brought on by public concerns over its close ties with M�ller & Co., a trading conglomerate that suffered badly in the economic downturn of the early 1920s. Using a new narrative history combined with an interpretive model, this article shows how the interlocking directorates between the bank and this major client, and in particular the direction of influence of these interlocks, resulted in a conflict of interest that could not be easily overcome.

Suggested Citation

  • Christopher L. Colvin, 2014. "Interlocking directorates and conflicts of interest: the Rotterdamsche Bankvereeniging, M�ller & Co. and the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(2), pages 314-334, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:56:y:2014:i:2:p:314-334
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2013.771342
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    Cited by:

    1. Colvin, Christopher L. & de Jong, Abe & Fliers, Philip T., 2015. "Predicting the past: Understanding the causes of bank distress in the Netherlands in the 1920s," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 97-121.
    2. Lychakov, Nikita, 2018. "Government-made bank distress: Industrialisation policies and the Russian financial crisis of 1899-1902," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-11, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    3. Claire E. F. Wright, 2022. "Above board? Interlocking directorates and corporate contagion in 1980s Australia," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(3), pages 290-312, November.
    4. Colvin, Christopher L., 2015. "The past, present and future of banking history," QUCEH Working Paper Series 15-05, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.

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    JEL classification:

    • N24 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: 1913-
    • N84 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Europe: 1913-

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