HOW AND WHY THE FRENCH STATE REJECTED THE PROJECT OF AN INDUSTRIAL BANK DESIGNED BY THE AUTOMOBILE COMPANY RENAULT (1971-1973)

Abstract

During the 1960s the French State-owned company Renault considerably developed and
transformed its finance division to cope with both globalization and industry dynamics. In 1971 the company went a step further. It submitted a project to the State as the supervisor
of the French financial market to create an industrial bank, that would be jointly owned with an
American bank. Renault subsequently modified the project and found other banks as partners.
However, the State rejected the proposal in 1973. This article contributes to our understanding
of corporate projects, of corporate finance, of banking history and of the relations between
the French Finance ministry and French industry