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The Covid-related crisis has once again highlighted the relevance of the financial system. The last financial crisis had an intense impact on the banking system, causing a sharp decline in lending activity, which, in many cases, has resulted in an increasing risk of financial exclusion especially in those territories in demographic decline. In this context, credit unions, characterized by their small size, localism and vocation of proximity banking, have suffered a less marked deterioration in assets than the rest of the entities of the banking system. In addition, they operate in areas where the population density is lower, differentiating their activity from the business of lucrative banking contributing to alleviate the financial exclusion of a geographical nature in these spaces. In an attempt to vindicate the role of credit unions, in the development of the territories of depopulation Spain, the present work is proposed. The aim of this is, on the one hand, to analyze the relationship between the financial system, employment and population, and on the other, to check if the presence of credit unions is greater where both factors are weaker, providing service in the spaces not attended by financial intermediaries. To this end, an empirical study is presented based on a model of structural equations using a partial least squares technique for demographic and financial activity data in 2018, the province is used as a unit of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The aim of the present work is to evaluate the corporate social performance of savings banks and cooperative banks from Aragon by analysing the information disclosed by these firms. We have developed a model to measure the corporate social performance reported by these banks, based on their interaction with their stakeholders. Moreover, the quantitative analysis is complemented by interviews. The main results show that the information on these issues disclosed in 2004-2008 is limited and mainly focuses on corporate governance and community concerns. However, we have observed a positive trend in the social performance information disclosed. The number of organisations that publish a sustainability report has grown from one in 2004 to three in 2008. This could indicate that savings banks and cooperative banks in Aragón are showing increasing interest in corporate responsibility principles and transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact on the Spanish banking system of the European Commission's proposal for a new Directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS). To do this, we examine the risk profile of Spanish banks according to the parameters defined by the European Directive over the period 2007-2010. Then we compare the current contributions to the DGS fund with those expected in the proposed system. We conclude that Spanish commercial and saving banks would have been more damaged than credit cooperatives with the implementation of the proposed rules. We also find that most banks increase their contributions to the DGS fund, suggesting a cyclical behavior of the new model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main consequences of the economic and financial crisis that began in the summer of 2007 has been an acceleration of the restructuring processes in the Spanish banking system, which includes credit cooperatives. In view of this, the aim of this research is to analyse the decade before the concentration processes in this sector began, in order to study whether the rationale for the groups that have been set up was based on criteria of homogeneous performance (degree of efficiency) of the constituent entities. To this end, it examines the groups that existed beforehand. In other words, this article tries to study whether the groups that have been formed or projected have followed the recommendations of the Spanish Central Bank or, on the contrary, whether the choice between the different alternatives or processes has been made for different reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study the level of efficiency in the sector of cooperative savings banks in Spain, using a non-parametrical approach by means of the DEA analysis. (DEA - Data Envelopment Analysis). Due to this, we start by a restricted approach that includes inputs such as business banking, staff costs, depreciation and financial costs, the traditional outputs being, loans and the securities portfolio. Subsequently, an incremental approach is proposed, extending the outputs of cooperative savings banks to bank operations, preferably with partners and the requirement to have a large workforce, with a reduced net profit in comparison with the rest of the banking entities. After discriminating the size of the cooperative savings banks, the future strategic response of the most important savings banks is given, according to the volume of Average Total Assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]