ABSTRACT
This study examines the founding charters of non-bank financial corporate start-ups in Greece between national independence in 1830 and 1909 (non-bank financial start-ups meaning entities that were not banks, but included the provision of financial services among their activities). From the perspective of financial history, the existence of these joint-stock-company start-ups is puzzling: What shape did they take and what financial services were they meant to offer? How did the features of non-bank start-ups change over time? Was the creation of these institutions connected to the formal banking corporate sector, and if so how? This paper aims at providing some preliminary answers to these important questions, thus paving the way to future research.
