FRENCH CO-OPERATIVES STRIVING TO MAINTAIN THEIR DIFFERENCES
French co-operative banks are striving hard to maintain their differences, while sparing little effort to adapt to the rapidly evolving French banking scene. In the scramble for new business, they are attempting to build from their traditional, mutualist base by offering an ever widening range of services both in France and abroad. They are also investing heavily in new technology to match France's ommercial banking sector.
Unlike West Germany and the Netherlands, co-operative banks in France are not all under just one roof. The three leading mutualist banks in the country are Credit Agricole, familiarly known as the "Green Bank" because of its roots in France's rural economy, Banques Populaires and Credit Mutuel. While the latter two are relatively modest in size when compared to the giant Credit Agricole, together the co-operative banks play a major role in France's banking system.
The lines are starting to blur between these three mutualist banks. At first sight, Credit Agricole is responsible for supplying low-cost capital to France's farming community, with Banques Populaires catering to small and medium-sized firms as well as tradesmen, while Credit Mutuel is firmly entrenched in personal banking and relations with France's local authorities.