Finance in an age of austerity the power of customer-owned banks / Johnston Birchall.

Author/creator Birchall, Johnston
Format Electronic
Publication InfoCheltenham, UK : Edward Elgar, [2013]
Descriptionix, 235 pages ; 24 cm.
Supplemental ContentFull text available from eBooks on EBSCOhost
Subjects

Contents Abbreviations -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- The evolution of cooperative banks -- The evolution of credit unions -- The evolution of mutual building societies -- The evolution of banks owned by other types of cooperative -- The performance of customer-owned banks during the crisis -- The comparative advantages of customer-owned banks -- Some alternatives: savings banks and micro-finance institutions -- Regulation, governance and the need for member participation -- What motivates members to participate? -- Customer-owned businesses- the wide picture -- Conclusion: a cooperative counter-narrative -- Appendix- a note on terminology -- Bibliography -- Index.
Abstract "This is a book in search of an alternative to the discredited investor-owned banks that have brought the rich countries into crisis and the world economy into a long period of austerity. It finds customer-owned banks - credit unions, co-operative banks, building societies - have hardly been affected by the crisis and continue to operate according to their organisational DNA: low-risk, close to the customer, underpinned by real savings, and still lending to SMEs to protect jobs and local economies. They are big business - in some countries with over 40% of the market - but networked in smaller, democratic societies whose origins go back to 1850s Germany. The book explores their history and current situation, measures the impact of the banking crisis, makes a systematic study of their advantages, compares them to alternatives (savings banks and micro-finance institutions), and investigates their supervision and governance structures. It provides hard evidence for the superiority of customer-owned banks." -- Back cover.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 215-228) and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2012951768
ISBN9781781951835
ISBN1781951837 (hbk.)
ISBN9781782544890 (pbk.)
ISBN1782544895 (pbk.)

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