Linking finance, decolonization, and trade. Italy’s Mediobanca in sub-Saharan Africa, 1944–1971

ABSTRACT

Research on Italy’s post-war international economic relations has so far mainly focused on European and transatlantic links. Yet, Africa played an important role in Italy’s new foreign economic policy. In the 1950s and 1960s, Mediobanca, Italy’s merchant bank, developed close economic relations with African countries mainly in three ways: through export credit, also in the form of ‘tied-aid’ credits; through equity participations in commercial banks and national development banks; through the establishment of trading companies, starting in Liberia, and expanding – or trying to expand – to former Belgian Congo, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, and former Rhodesia. The article uses unpublished sources from various archives including Mediobanca’s, recently made available to the public. Via Mediobanca and its unpublished sources, the article looks at general issues such as Italy’s place in the world economy, and the interplay between Cold War, decolonization, and European integration.

RIASSUNTO

Le ricerche sulle relazioni economiche internazionali dell'Italia postbellica si sono fin qui soffermate principalmente sui rapporti europei e transatlantici. Tuttavia, l'Africa giocò un ruolo importante nella politica estera economica del Paese. Negli anni Cinquanta enegli anni Sessanta, Mediobanca - la banca d'affari italiana - sviluppò stretti rapporti economici con i paesi africani attraverso tre strumenti: il credito all'esportazione, anche mediante i crediti vincolati; le partecipazioni azionarie nelle banche commerciale e nelle banche nazionali di sviluppo; la costituzione di “trading companies”, a cominciare dalla Liberia per poi espandersi (in alcuni casi solo provando a espandersi) nell'ex Congo belga, in Guinea, Costa d'Avorio, Mozambico, Nigeria, Tanzania e nell'ex Rhodesia. L'articolo fa leva su fonti inedite conservate in vari archivi, tra cui quello di Mediobanca, che solo di recente èstato aperto al pubblico. Attraverso Mediobanca, l'articolo affronta temi quali il posto dell'Italia nel'economia mondiale e l'intreccio tra guerra fredda, decolonizzazione e integrazione europea.

KEYWORDS:

• Africa
• decolonization
• foreign economic policy
• trade
• Italy

PAROLE CHIAVE:

• Africa
• decolonizzazione
• politica estera economica
• commercio estero
• Italia

Notes

1. Archivio Storico Mediobanca Vincenzo Maranghi [henceforth: ASMVM], Mediobanca [henceforth: MBCA], Segreteria Generale [henceforth: SGEN], Nominativi Estero [henceforth: NMES], 7, 4, Memorandum for Burnett Walker, July 1950, p. 2.

2. ASMVM, MBCA, Scritture societarie [henceforth: SCST], Verbali del Consiglio di amministrazione [henceforth: VCDA], 2, Meeting of 4, 1950, p. 160.

3. Archivio Storico Intesa San Paolo [henceforth: ASI], Banca Commerciale Italiana [henceforth: BCI], Carte Mattioli [henceforth: CM], box 60, f. 16, Compass, Papers for the Meeting of 20 Oct., 1952, Memorandum 2A, 14 Oct., 1952.

4. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 4, Meeting of 26 Apr., 1954, p. 99.

5. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 4 Meeting of 29 Sep., 1954, p. 149.

6. Missione economica italiana in Liberia, Ghana e Nigeria: 30 novembre–18 dicembre 1958, Africa, 14, 1959, pp. 99–112.

7. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 6, Meeting of 25 Sep., 1956, pp. 54–55.

8. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 13, Meeting of 13 May, 1966, p. 12.

9. Archivio Centrale dello Stato [hereafter: ACS], Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale [henceforth: IRI], Numerazione nera [henceforth: NR], box 3417 (Intersomer), f. Sindacato per la Costituzione di una Compagnia Internazionale Mercantile, Compagnia Mercantile internazionale, 1954, p. 2. The author is, most probably, Cuccia.

10. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 7, Meeting of 3 June, 1955, p. 36.

11. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 7, Meeting of 3 June, 1955, p. 45.

12. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 7, Meeting of 28 Apr., 1958, pp. 71–72.

13. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 8, Meeting of 18 May, 1960, pp. 163–164.

14. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, Banche estere [henceforth: BNES], Cuccia to Mazur, 10 Oct., pp. 1–2.

15. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, 9, Meeting of 15 Mar., 1961, p. 92.

16. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, Sospesi Pratiche Riservate Cuccia [henceforth: SPSC], 3, 3, p. 1.

17. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 2, 3, Cuccia and Lentati to Giustiniani, 12 Feb., 1959.

18. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 2, 5, Cuccia to Sékou Touré, 24 Apr., 1959.

19. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, 3, 2, 2, Cuccia to Furstenberg, 16 May, 1959.

20. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 2, 4, Meeting Baron Snoy-Litvine-Cuccia, 10 Nov., 1960.

21. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 5, Internationalisation des Entreprises Congolaises. Schema d’un projet de collaboration avec un group italien, 1960.

22. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 5, Snoy to Cuccia, Brussels, 22 Nov., 1960.

23. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, Nominativi Italia Cassaforte Riservata [henceforth: NICR], 21, 13, Cuccia to Giustiniani, 18 Dec., 1960.

24. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 3, Minute of the Meeting of 21 Feb., 1961.

25. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 2, 4, Meeting Fulcheri-Lentati, 6 Apr., 1961.

26. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 8, Van der Straeten to Meyer, 20 Mar., 1962.

27. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 8, Van der Straeten to Cuccia, 9 Apr., 1962.

28. ASMVM, MBCA, SGPR, Affiliate e Collegate [henceforth: AFCG], 6, 1, Banque Ivorienne de Developpement Industriel.

29. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 7, Visit to Abidjan, 7–8 Feb., 1961, p. 3.

30. ACS, IRI, NR, b. 3415 (Intersomer), f. 1971, Balance sheet, 6 June, 1971, p. 8.

31. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, VCDA, 13, Meeting of 13 May, 1966, p. 10

32. ASMVM, MBCA, SGPR, AFCG, 1, 22, 2 Visit to Lusaka, 22–23 June, 1966.

33. ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, VCDA, 13, Meeting of 13 May, 1966, p. 10.

34. Archivio Storico della Banca d’Italia [henceforth: ASBI], Banca d’Italia [henceforth: BDI], 57 DC, Pratt. 24.1, f. 6

35. ASMVM, MBCA, SCST, VCDA, Meeting of 20 May, 1969.

36. See ASMVM, MBCA, SGEN, SPSC, 1, 10, A propos d’une etude sur les implications atlantique du marche commun (1962). The author of this document is Carlo Bussi of F.I.A.T., but his views were shared by Cuccia.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Giovanni Farese

Giovanni Farese is Associate Professor of Economic History at the European University of Rome. He is Managing Editor of The Journal of European Economic History, and Marshall Memorial Fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.