ABSTRACT
It is fairly generally known that the relations between banks and industrial firms are closer in Germany than in this country. In the ordinary current account connexion the customer sometimes owes money on the balance to the bank and sometimes has a balance to his credit. The general use of the 'simultaneous' method of promotion can be explained in part at least by the rôle which the banks have played in the development of German industry. The German Joint Stock Company has three governing organs: the Executive, the Board of Supervisors, and the General Meeting of Shareholders. This chapter outlines the technique of industrial banking in Germany to reveals many opportunities for the banks to exercise influence on the policy of their industrial clients. In relation to the greater industrial undertakings and industrial groups, however, the influence of the banks was very much less. Here the financial resources of industrialists were larger, both absolutely and in relation to their needs.
