French Bankers and the Transformation of the Financial System in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
French Bankers and the Transformation of the Financial System in the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
The purpose of this chapter is to reassess the role of French financial elites, especially bankers, in the second half of the twentieth century. The first part of the chapter examines the commercial banks’ strategies concentrating on the three decades following the Second Word War, characterized by an increased level of state intervention and strict regulation in financial affairs. The second part considers the post-1981 period, marked by a double policy change, when the Socialists came to power before being displaced by the Right in 1986. These upheavals had a direct impact on the financial sector and raise the question of the role of the financial elites: how did they react to the nationalizations and then the liberalization of the financial system? Was their position enhanced or diminished by these transformations?
Keywords: commercial banks, financial policy, Ministry of Finance, state ownership, stock exchange
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