the world of private banking
the world of private banking
the world of private banking
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192<br />
THE WORLD OF PRIVAtE BANKING<br />
Bonfili, head <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Venice <strong>banking</strong> house <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> same name and Vice-President <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> Banca Veneta di Depositi e Conti Correnti. 47<br />
If at first sight this presence can, and in a certain sense must, be read as a<br />
confirmation <strong>of</strong> behaviour that was nothing new (<strong>the</strong> guarantee <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> outcome<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> production, combined with tariffs protection, <strong>of</strong>fered extensive guarantees<br />
even to <strong>the</strong> most cautious and conservative <strong>of</strong> financiers), it is also true that <strong>the</strong><br />
complexity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> operation implied, we might say, <strong>the</strong> overreaching <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ‘point<br />
<strong>of</strong> no return’. In fact Treves sustained Terni at length, <strong>of</strong>fering it constant financial<br />
support and actually opening up <strong>the</strong> circle <strong>of</strong> backers to o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>private</strong> bankers<br />
(Lenci <strong>of</strong> Genova and Ambron <strong>of</strong> Florence) and various German banks: <strong>the</strong><br />
Berlin <strong>banking</strong> house Warschauer & Co. and <strong>the</strong> Nationalbank für Deutschland,<br />
also in Berlin, <strong>the</strong> same banks that, along with several Italian shareholders, in<br />
1895 had given birth to <strong>the</strong> Credito Italiano. Terni entrusted its cash services<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Credito Mobiliare, but during <strong>the</strong> most acute phase in <strong>the</strong> crisis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
bank, in 1893, it was only <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> Treves and <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>private</strong> bankers<br />
that saved <strong>the</strong> company from bankruptcy in 1893. From that time on, and up to<br />
1904 (when <strong>the</strong> steel enterprise came under <strong>the</strong> sphere <strong>of</strong> influence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Banca<br />
Commerciale), it was <strong>the</strong> bank <strong>of</strong> Baron Treves that took care <strong>of</strong> all <strong>the</strong> Terni<br />
<strong>banking</strong> operations. 48<br />
Alongside such demanding operations <strong>the</strong>re were also many o<strong>the</strong>r initiatives<br />
which, despite globally requiring fewer resources, were never<strong>the</strong>less symptomatic<br />
<strong>of</strong> a growing diversification <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> activities <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>private</strong> bankers in <strong>the</strong> industrial<br />
sphere. Two recent studies, one dealing with <strong>the</strong> <strong>private</strong> bankers <strong>of</strong> Turin and <strong>the</strong><br />
o<strong>the</strong>r with those <strong>of</strong> Naples, underline converging innovations in this direction from<br />
<strong>the</strong> 1890s on. As regards <strong>the</strong> former case, among <strong>the</strong> many examples we might<br />
mention those relating to <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Turin bankers in <strong>the</strong> foodstuffs sphere,<br />
where Kuster was among <strong>the</strong> shareholders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Società Anonima di Esportazione<br />
Agricola Cirio and <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Boringhieri e C., a company dealing in <strong>the</strong> production<br />
and marketing <strong>of</strong> beer and ice; <strong>the</strong> Marsaglia bro<strong>the</strong>rs were part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Molini<br />
(mills) <strong>of</strong> Collegno and Fellizzano Bro<strong>the</strong>rs Tavolaj & Co. In <strong>the</strong> mining sphere,<br />
<strong>the</strong> Ulrico Geisser and De Fernex <strong>banking</strong> houses <strong>of</strong>fered <strong>the</strong>ir support in <strong>the</strong> guise<br />
<strong>of</strong> shareholders to <strong>the</strong> Monteponi company; in <strong>the</strong> services sector, Kuster was<br />
among <strong>the</strong> shareholders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Società Italiana Elettricità Sistema Cruto (toge<strong>the</strong>r<br />
with <strong>the</strong> <strong>private</strong> bank Sacerdote Ezechia & Co. and <strong>the</strong> bank Fratelli Nigra).<br />
Geisser appears in <strong>the</strong> list <strong>of</strong> shareholders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Società Metallurgica Italiana and,<br />
through <strong>the</strong> house <strong>of</strong> Molvano, Olivetti e C., <strong>the</strong> banker Alessandro Molvano is in<br />
1885 among <strong>the</strong> co-founders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Tardy e Benech <strong>of</strong> Savona. Antonio Kuster is<br />
again to be found among <strong>the</strong> founders <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Società Elettrometallurgica Italiana.<br />
The same banker also took part – along with Schläpfer and Wenner, two important<br />
47<br />
F. Bonelli, Lo sviluppo di una grande impresa in Italia: La Terni dal 1884 al 1962<br />
(Turin, 1965), pp. 3–16; S. Lanaro, ‘Genealogia di un modello’, in S. Lanaro (ed.), Storia<br />
d’Italia: Le regioni dall’Unità a oggi, Il Veneto (Turin, 1984), p. 86.<br />
48<br />
Bonelli, Lo sviluppo, pp. 42–4.