The role of cooperative banks in promoting financial stability and sustainable economic development

On August 26th and 27th, 2016, the EUCE co-hosted this conference with the Department of Economics and the Gustavson School of Business, which aims at providing a forum for academic researchers and policy makers to discuss issues related to the structure and design of financial systems and their impact on growth and financial stability. 

The 2016 inaugural meeting of the IWFSAS was dedicated to discussing the role of Cooperative Financial Institutions (CFIs). CFIs appear to have weathered the 2008 global financial crisis better than commercial banks. Despite this, the role of cooperative banks, credit unions, and other types of financial institutions with alternative forms of ownership, seem to be missing from the current discussions and debates about financial stability and regulatory reforms.

The call for papers welcomed both theoretical and empirical contributions on the following: the role of CFIs in strengthening the financial system, competition and bank risk-taking, safety nets and moral hazards, the regulation of CFIs, and so on. For more information, please visit the IFWSAS 2016 website.  

This conference was organized by Dr. Paul Schure and and Dr. Basma Majerbi, and sponsored by The University of Victoria (Gustavson School of Business & the Department of Economics) in collaboration with the European Union Center of Excellence (EUCE) and the International Research Center on Cooperative Finance (IRCCF) at HEC Montreal. 

This activity was funded by the European Union Centre of Excellence.