Rassegna storica del Risorgimento

Banche e ferrovie in Piemonte
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troubled by dissension.36) Nevertheless, as soon as it opened its doors far business the Cassa del Commercio was generous in its loans against Cuneo shares, much to the satisf action of Cavour. In his eyes the bank was fueling a railroad boom which would benefit ali of the kingdom's existing and potentìal companies.37) Bolmida's ambitions went further, however. No sooner had the Cassa del Commercio launched into its operatlons than he was sounddng his Parisian conrespondent, James de Rothschild, on the possibilità of introducing joint-stock investment banking to Turin. Roth­schild was at that time adamantly opposed to such ventures, so Bolmida had to bidè his time on that score.38) He and his allies moved nonetheless at the beginning of 1854 to doublé their bank's capital from four to edght million lire, then they won control of the Cuneo company's board of directors. At the same time, Bolmida petitioned Cavour's government to give the Cassa del Commercio free rein to invest in other joint-stock companies. With the first boom perdod of the 1850s subsiding, Cavour was reluctant to accede to Bolmida's wishes, which would. have been tantamount to letting the Cassa del Commercio become an investment bank. He did not judge -the time quite ripe for such a ohange. Bolmida and the bank had -to settle instead for permission to buy out the holdings of overdue debtors who had borrowed against their shares in various joint-stock companies.39)
Faced with restrictions on the Cassa del Commercio's ability to engagé in investment bank aotivities from the middle of 1854 to the middle of 1855, Bolmida and his colleagues were content to concentrate on the establishment's role as commercial bank and financial ànstitution, and they made an attempt to change the characteristics of their pximary railroading focus, the Cuneo company. They proposed to turn over operation of the road and. its spurs to the state (in exchange for the usuai fifty percent of the lines' gross revenues), but, despite the government's warm acceptance of the idea, the reporting committee in the Chamber of Deputies resolutely rejected it in the name of economie liberalism. The proposai
36) MAIC, b. 175, f. 52, Trattativa sul Prolungamento della Via Ferrata da Savigliano a Cuneo , 26 March 185l; minutes of Savigliano/Cuneo company shareholder meetings of 5 and 12 Jan. 1852 and 8 Jan. 1854; Cuneo company Statuti; Cuneo company report from shareholder meeting of 31 March 1853; AP, 26:575, 91:3501; De Biase, p. 83; Einaudi, pp. 24-37; Arese, pp. 64-69; and Cavour to De La Rue, 6 March 1853, in Cavour, Nouvelles lettres, p. 453.
37) Cavour to De La Rue, 21 and 25 May 1853, in ibid., pp. 456457.
3 Gille, Les investissements, p. 132.
39) MAIC, b. 155, f. 107, sf. 1, minutes of CCI shareholder meetings of 12 Jan. and 30 May 1854; ministerial report to Councìl of State, 7 June 1854; Council of State opinion adopted 29 June 1854; Ministry of Fin ance to G. Garda, manager of the Cassa del Commercio, 4 Jury 1854 (copy); b. 175, f. 52, minutes of Cuneo company shareholder meetings of 8 Jan. and 19 May 1854; Gazzetta Piemontese, Giornale Ufficiale del Regno (Turin), 6 Feb, 1854; Pautassi, p. 359; and Da Pozzo and Felloni, p. 244.