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.
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