Rezension: Europäische Banken. Bilanzen und Konzerne. Eine kritische Darstellung. Jahrgang 1933

Helene Lieser’s 1933 review of Europäische Banken. Bilanzen und Konzerne assesses an annual banking reference work through its practical value during the crisis and its expanded coverage. Its arrangement remains unchanged and its contributors largely familiar, with Johan Bertelsen newly responsible for Danish banks.

The Austrian section covers four major institutions, now including the Credit-Anstalt. Lieser welcomes this addition but presses for broader representation:

Hier ist es wohl erlaubt, den Wunsch auszusprechen, daß im nächsten Jahr noch andere österreichische Institute aufgenommen werden.

English translation: It is surely permissible here to express the wish that further Austrian institutions be included next year.

Coverage rises from 184 to 205 banks even as the worldwide number of banks apparently declines. This contrast connects the review’s bibliographic assessment to its concluding diagnosis of banking’s transformation:

Auch der Geschäftsumfang ist bei allen Banken stark geschrumpft und der Einfluß des Staates auf das Bankwesen ist infolge vieler Stützungen und Sanierungen international stark gestiegen.

English translation: The volume of business has also contracted sharply at all banks, and the influence of the state on banking has increased markedly internationally as a result of numerous support measures and restructurings.

The reference work’s relevance thus rests on documenting a shrinking sector increasingly shaped by state intervention.