The evolution of banca commerciale italiana's acceptance business in New York and its weight in financing the italian imports from 1927 to 1931

The research aims to provide an analysis of some commodities imported, notably cotton and coffee, and the geographical distribution of Italian short–term financing through a joint–stock bank’s perspective1. This research aims to illuminate the impact of the 1929 Crisis and the 1931 banking crisis on the acceptance business of Banca Commerciale Italiana from the perspective of its New York branch. This office was established in the aftermath of the First World War2, which allowed Comit to enter on a new market, pivotal for manifold reasons. Firstly, to accept in account of Comit’s Italian branches the bills of exchange issued by American exporters, secondly to rediscount Sudameris’ bills destined to finance exports towards Europe and Italy, and thirdly – not less important – to place on this financial market bonds and obligations of Italian companies and public institutions. Using archival material from the Historical Archive of Intesa Sanpaolo, this study presents a unique dataset of acceptance credits used by companies which had short–term credit lines opened at Comit’s New York branch (BCI-NY), between 1926. and 19313. These accounting ledgers report the remitter of the bill, its drawer, and its drawee, which was often a Comit branch in Italy and the clause: in other words, if the bill had been issued for an export or an import.