Financial penetration and economic development in southern Italy: Comit’s branches in Sardinia (1895-1924)

Journal title ITALIA CONTEMPORANEA
Author/s Stefano Pisu
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2023/303
Language Italian Pages 29 P. 119-147 File size 210 KB
DOI 10.3280/IC2023-303005
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The article reconstructs the history of the Banca Commerciale Italiana’s branches in Sardinia between 1906 and 1924. These events are placed in the broader economic and banking history of the island from the end of the 19th century to the 1920s. This offers a new perspective on Comit’s business strategy on the island, hitherto examined only in its role as financier of the so-called Sardinian Electric Group managed by Giulio Dolcetta. The study of the establishment and development of Comit’s branches is intended to evaluate the bank’s presence on the island, its penetration into the socio-economic fabric and the direct relations it established with savers and entrepreneurs. This research highlights the increasing growth of Comit’s presence in Sardinia and its widespread ramification throughout the territory in a context of strong competition with Banco di Napoli in the pre-war period and even more so with Credito Italiano in the post-war period. The primary sources used are the documents held by the Intesa Sanpaolo Historical Archives concerning the Sardinian branches of the Bci and their accounting records. The records of the Banco di Napoli’s Sardinian branches have also been consulted in order to compare strategies and results obtained in those years.

Keywords: Banca commerciale italiana, Sardinia, history of banking, business history

Stefano Pisu, Penetrazione finanziaria e sviluppo economico nel Mezzogiorno: le filiali della Comit in Sardegna (1895-1924) in "ITALIA CONTEMPORANEA" 303/2023, pp 119-147, DOI: 10.3280/IC2023-303005