1882

Stock market crash and collapse of the Union générale in France

This Catholic bank, founded in 1878, posted very rapid growth, thanks to a con­sid­erable number of buy­backs and risky invest­ments, espe­cially inter­na­tionally, in the regions of Central Europe and the Danube. This growth came to a sudden halt in 1882, the bank having gone bankrupt due to excessive stock prices and poor fin­ancial man­agement. The stock markets in Lyon and Paris were shaken and a crisis of several years ensued, which affected the mining, metal­lurgy and con­struction sectors.