Presenter: Susana Martínez-Rodríguez (Universidad de Murcia)
Chair: Beatriz Rodríguez-Satizabal (Universidad del Pacífico/GHE UniAndes)
Abstract: This article investigates female shareholders’ role in Banco Hispano Americano (1922-1935), a leading private bank in Spain. On average, 40% of the bank’s shareholders were women, and they owned more than a third of the share capital. Their participation in the capital became more pronounced throughout the years, although women held fewer assets than men, and the largest portfolios remained in male hands. Factors that motivated women’s holding of shares were urbanization, broader changes in society, and family ties. 40% of all the shareholders were siblings, with a higher number of sisters than brothers. Likewise, the practice of the equal distribution of shares among siblings also favored female agency (85% of women had a volume of assets similar to that of their siblings). The findings have implications for our understanding of the social framework surrounding the creation of wealth, and contribute to the international literature on female shareholders.