Corporate Warfare
Sudameris and the Franco–Italian Banking Rivalry in South America, 1945–1960
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12679656 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ioan Achim Balaban (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Enterprise & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1467-2227 • E-ISSN: 1467-2235 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/eso.2026.10116 |
| OpenAlex | W7140158213 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
This article examines the postwar Franco-Italian struggle over Sudameris (Banque Française et Italienne pour l’Amérique du Sud), a multinational bank operating across South America. After 1945, Paribas sought to transform Sudameris into a French institution, backed by government pressure and asset sequestration. Italy’s Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) resisted, regaining majority control in 1948 through strategic share acquisitions. The ensuing conflict (1948–1955) centered on executive power. Paribas relied on French corporate law to maintain managerial dominance, while the BCI finally succeeded in appointing an Italian managing director in 1955. Under Italian leadership, Sudameris shifted from transactional to relationship banking in South America, reversing stagnation and achieving renewed growth by 1960. Sudameris’s early postwar history reveals how postwar European economic rivalries extended into South America and how multinational banks adapted to nationalist environments amid the contradictory forces of regional integration and global competition
Asset (computer security · Database transaction · Government (linguistics · Multinational corporation · Nationalism · Rivalry · Subsidiary · Elite Sociology and Global Capitalism · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Italy: Economic History and Contemporary Issues
| Highly cited | No |
|---|