WP 129 | 23 The state of cooperative banking research in Europe and its future directions

After showing remarkable resilience to the negative effects of the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, cooperative banks have undergone a process of structural reform and consolidation almost everywhere in Europe over the past decade. Recognizing these changes, the paper provides an account of the main concepts and trends in research that has focused on cooperative banks since 2010. At the same time, it outlines current trends with the aim of anticipating new research trajectories, setting out some directions for new research efforts on cooperative banks operating in Europe. Sustainability, green finance, and digitization are all concepts that have recently emerged in research on cooperative banks and will be explored in relation to their business models. Other potentially fruitful research topics include an investigation into the critical elements of the cooperative banking governance model, as well as the many differences among cooperative banking models in Europe, which have yet to be adequately understood and evaluated.

JEL Codes

G01; G21; G28; G34