BANKING GROUPS REDUX - SOCIÉTÉ FINANCIÈRE EUROPÉENE, BANKING COOPERATIONS AND THE ORIGINS OF SWIFT 1967–1977
September 2025 | Global Correspondent Banking 1870–2000 Working Paper Series, Vol. 1, No. 6 | University of Oxford.
Abstract
The forms of interbank cooperation that took place in the 1960s and 1970s have recently attracted renewed attention. During this period, banks responded to market changes that shifted their focus from commercial banking and payments to capital markets in a context of anticipated erosion of national regulatory borders. These banking groups and consortia banks faced challenges yet remain a fascinating example of cooperative strategies. One of the least well understood aspects is the relationship between cross-border payments and these forms of cooperation, which this paper uncovers in the example of a seldom discussed consortium bank, Société Financière Européene. This paper presents new evidence on the impact of banking groups on the architecture of the global payments system at a time of technological innovation, deregulation and internationalisation.
Keywords
International banking, banking groups, cross-border payments, strategic cooperation
