We analyze the impact of bank relationships on the performance of Belgian firms listed on the Brussels stock exchange at the start of the Great Depression, in 1929–1931. Most of these firms were affiliated with one or more banks via interlocking directorships. Taking into account the number of...

Société Générale de Belgique was the world's first universal bank. It pioneered another innovation: investing in non-listed equity. We use hand-collected data to show that the bank earned significant positive risk-adjusted returns from 1850 to 1934. This offset its flat return on the listed...