Selon la littérature récente, les banques mutualistes seraient caractérisées par un objectif d’utilité sociale par opposition à l’objectif de rentabilité des banques ordinaires. Nous confrontons cette perspective à l’analyse des banques mutualistes de trois économies européennes (allemande, britannique, française) qui présentent chacune de fortes spécificités. Dans ces trois cas les banques mutualistes représentent des parts significatives du chiffre d’affaires bancaire et une rentabilité comparable à celle des banques ordinaires. La rentabilité des banques mutualistes va ainsi à l’encontre de l’analyse d’Allen et Gale (1995-2000) qui avancent que le statut mutualiste implique des coûts d’emploi plus lourds que ceux du secteur commercial. Les banques mutualistes étudiées constituent une particularité du système financier européen dont l’évolution récente ouvre des perspectives favorables.
Classification JEL : G21, L2
Microfinance and universal bank : the singular case of Germany
Micro-lending originated in developing countries and is now increasingly applied in industrialized nations. Its main objective lies in the provision of financial services, especially small loans, to those parts of the population (without job) which do not have bank access. So, microfinance is generally associated with attempts to reduce poverty. In consequence, everywhere micro-lending is subsidized. In Europe, micro-lending is associated with the employment politic by social policy makers and the states, associations and banking systems must try to work together. Because of low rates of financial intermediation (narrow sense), banks must find new customers. Micro-lending are an opportunity in this context. This interest for microlending is recent because the commercial banks point at unprofitable products given the fixed cost of processing a loan and the high risks associated with lending to microentrepreneurs without guarantees. This study gives a global view of microfinance in Europe and analyses the microfinance in Germany, a singular case because microfinance sector has developed despite the strict banking regulation (only banks are authorized to provide loans) and the reluctance of commercial banks to develop micro-lending activities, at the notable exception of some local savings banks which play a prominent part.
Classification JEL : E44, E51, G21.
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