Governance in French Cooperative Banks: a Member-Centered Approach

Cooperative banks have reinvested their democratic governance since the early 2000s. In particular, they have developed strategies aimed at their members in order to increase their number and commitment, in a context gradually marked by environmental pressures on the professionalization and independence of boards. Beyond the quantitative effects, this member mobilization has stimulated the construction of new indicators to characterize the activity and the CSR and cooperative articulation. It thus had an enabling effect on cooperative banks. However, the insufficient training of employees about cooperatives at the various levels of the organization hamper member mobilization and its effects in terms of creating resources for cooperative banks and their territory, and building a common professional community.