General Characteristics of Cooperative Banks in France

Abstract

The author's subject is cooperative banking in France, especially the specific regulation of this type of banking. The author presents the elements of the creation of cooperative banks in France, the legal basis for the operation of cooperative banks, and the specific features that allowed cooperative banks in France to develop significantly. Many factors influenced the position of cooperative banks; among them, the elements of historical grounding on the market, the flexibility of banking, modernization, and adaptation to the national economic policy can be distinguished. In the policy of cooperative banking, the French doctrine emphasizes the values of the social economy, ethics, responsibility, participation of parties, solidarity, and proximity to the client. In cooperative banking, the emphasis is on cooperation, mutual assistance, and solidarity (collaboration, entraide, solidarité).