The local networks of Swiss banking elites: from embeddedness to disengagement, 1890–2020

Abstract

This visualisation examines the changing local networks of Swiss banking elites between 1890 and 2020. Drawing on data from Switzerland’s three main cities, it reconstructs interlocking directorates linking 301 banking elites to major local institutions. It reveals a long-term shift from dense local embeddedness to near-complete disengagement. This decline reflects the transition from a coordinated market economy, in which top bankers acted as brokers across institutional boundaries, to an internationalised and financialised banking sector. Such disengagement does not necessarily imply a loss of power, but raises questions about financial elite influence in an era of fragmentation.