Interlocking Directorates, Commercial Banks, Other Financial Institutions and Non-Financial Corporations

Abstract

The paper documents the interlocking directorates of banks with other financial and nonfinancial firms which belong to the top 1,000 corporations in the Philippines. Within the interlocked group of firms are the large conglomerates of leading families. Additionally, there is interlocking within major banks.  The paper argues that interlocking is an innovation for obtaining rent or privileges that were created by policies. Interlocking facilitates the lobbying process. This possibly explains the difficulty of implementing structural reforms in the country.