New Developments of the Industrial System Based on Industry–Bank Relationships

This chapter explores the development of a new system of oligopolistic industrial concentration based on industry–bank relationships after World War II. Industry–bank relationships are important issues in collaborative inter-firm relationships, corporate governance, enterprise development, and the accumulation structures of Japanese and German capitalism. In Japan, industry–bank relationships were restructured through the deconcentration of the zaibatsu and the formation of large corporate groups that spanned a wide array of industrial sectors. Industry–bank relationships developed in Germany through a variety of mechanisms, including banks’ credit and securities businesses, the shareholdings and deposited stock system, the assignment of directors from banks to corporations, and the advisory board system. First, this chapter examines Japan’s postwar industrial system based on industry–bank relationships. Second, it examines new developments in Germany’s industrial systems based on industry–bank relationships. Drawing on these discussions, the Japanese and German characteristics and the significance of their industrial systems based on industry–bank relationships are clarified.