ABSTRACT
The "Americanization" of Austria is a fascinating topic and raises the question of whether the term "Americanization" should be seen as a challenge or a threat or indeed a cure for old European ills. There are two key reasons for the slow pace of "Americanization," yet there are three areas where "Americanization" has been occurring, namely capital markets, business ethics and attitudes, and accounting. The first reason for this is the role of the state after World War II and its ownership of the largest banks and the largest industrial companies as a legacy of German and Russian ownership. Second, the dominance of the universal banking system and its preference for the lending business rather than the securities business also limited the influence of America on Austrian banking and finance. Looking at the development of the Austrian economy after World War II, there is proof that the lending based system can work quite well.
