Investigating Diversity in the Banking Sector in Europe: Key Developments, Performance and Role of Cooperative Banks

This book investigates the merits of a diverse banking system with a special focus on the performance and role of cooperative banks in seven European countries: Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. The authors compare banks that aim to maximize shareholder value with cooperative banks that concentrate on increasing "stakeholder value" for a larger and more diversified group of subjects representing varied interests. The theoretical and empirical arguments that are developed support the view that it is economically beneficial to have banks looking out for both shareholders and a broader group of stakeholders.

This book is the result of a two-year research project designed by the Financial Institutions and Prudential Policy unit of CEPS. The project was directed by a scientific committee composed of Rym Ayadi, senior research fellow at CEPS; David T. Llewellyn, Loughborough University, CASS Business School and the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration; and Reinhard H. Schmidt, professor at the University of Frankfurt. The research team was composed of the members of the scientific committee and researchers from CEPS; Emrah Arbak, researcher; and Willem Pieter De Groen, research assistant.