The recent banking crisis has brought into question the business model used by most large banks in the United States and Europe. Post-crisis reforms have been announced, with calls for a return to 'narrow banking methods, instead of commercial banks diversifying into areas traditionally offered by investments banks, and vice versa. In spite of wide-ranging debate on these reforms, the success of 'alternative banks - savings banks, cooperative banks and development banks - has been largely overlooked. This success is all the more extraordinary as such banks are not expected to turn a profit. This collection of essays explores this paradox, using case studies from around the world and discussion of both the historical and theoretical context of banking practices.
Introduction - Olivier Butzbach and Kurt von Mettenheim
Part I: Historical Context and Conceptual Framework
1 Alternative Banking History - Kurt von Mettenheim and Olivier Butzbach
2 The Comparative Performance of Alternative Banks before the 2007-8 Crisis - Olivier Butzbach and Kurt von Mettenheim
3 The Counter-Cyclical Behaviour of Public and Private Banks: An Overview of the Literature - Alfredo Schclarek
4 Explaining the Competitive Advantage of Alternative Banks: Towards an Alternative Banking Theory? - Olivier Butzbach and Kurt von Mettenheim
Part II: Comparative Country Cases
5 A Qualitative and Statistical Analysis of European Cooperative Banking Groups - Hans Groeneveld
6 The Persistence of the Three-Pillar Banking System in Germany - Reinhard H. Schmidt, Dilek Bülbül and Ulrich Schüwer
7 Alternative Banks in a Dualistic Economy: The Case of Italy before and during the Euro Crisis - Luca Giordano and Antonio Lopes
8 Alternative Banks on the Margin: The Case of Building Societies in the United Kingdom - Olivier Butzbach
9 The United States: Alternative Banking from Mainstream to the Margins - Kurt von Mettenheim
10 BRIC Statecraft and Government Banks - Kurt von Mettenheim
11 Cooperative Banks in India: Alternative Banks Impervious to the Global Crisis? - Lakshmi Kumar
Conclusion - Kurt von Mettenheim and Olivier Butzbach
Notes
