The geography of financial integration: regional disparities in Italian correspondent banking with London, 1920-1985

Journal article

This paper offers new micro-level evidence on how the structure of the Italian banking system evolved vis-à-vis banks in London. Our approach allows us to measure the pattern of thousands of bilateral payment connections between banks in Italy and London over the 20th century at a much more granular level than existing studies, which have focused on the business of large banks. We use the data to explore the regional and local geography of cross-border banking links. This reveals how smaller banks in towns and cities across Italy were connected to the global payment system to provide services to local migrants, traders, and investors. We find that the changing pattern of banks’ links to London over time did not merely reflect economic growth and suggest further avenues for analysis.

Authors: Molteni, M; Pala, GM; Schenk, C

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Società Editrice il Mulino
• Journal: Rivista di Storia Economica
• Publication date: 2026-02-20
• Acceptance date: 2025-12-14
• DOI: 10.1410/119703
• EISSN: 2612-1026
• ISSN: 0393-3415
• Language: English
• Keywords: financial integration; correspondent banking; London financial centre; Italian banking history; regional inequality; international payments