Recent research has put the business activities of late 19th-mid-20th-century ‘central banks’ back at the core of the analysis. This paper contributes to the debate on the Italian case, focusing on the period between the country’s Unification in 1861 and the establishment of a proper central bank in 1936. The paper demonstrates that the country’s main banks of issue (the Banca Nazionale until 1893 and the Banca d’Italia thereafter) developed a highly cost-effective strategy of geographical expansion based on a network of correspondents. Corporate offices were also established, primarily due to institutional pressure, specific contingencies, or complementarity with the functions of correspondent banks. The result was the establishment of a national payment system and a profitable expansion of these institutions, which, in turn, helped foster a stronger commitment to central banking duties and responsibilities.
Astore et al. (Fri,) studied this question.