ABSTRACT
Austria Inc. (Ziegler, Bender, and Biehler 1985)—the tightly knit intercorporate network that facilitated control and coordination among companies in Austria—underwent a number of remarkable transformations during the twentieth century. After the bankruptcy of Creditanstalt (CA) in 1931 and its bail out by the state, banking concentration culminated in widespread bank industry relations that were part and parcel of the capitalist market economy of the young First Republic of Austria. Contrary to the widespread assumption that Germany was the home of universal banking, it can be argued to be found in a purer form under the Habsburg monarchy (Teichova 1994, 4). After the break-up of the monarchy, banks, especially CA, continued to hold large industrial clients.
