Brussels, 7 May 2026 – The European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB) releases today its Annual Report 2025, providing an overview of the association’s key activities advancing the voice of cooperative banks in the legislative and policy debate in the EU and beyond.
With competitiveness, the twin transitions, and strategic autonomy featuring highly on the EU strategic agenda, the EACB maintained a strong engagement in the regulatory debate. Throughout 2025, the association contributed expertise and on-the-ground knowledge to policy and legislative initiatives affecting cooperative banks and the communities they serve across Europe.
Priscille Szeradzki, EACB President, stated:
“Cooperative banks remain central to supporting growth, financial inclusion and the green and digital transitions across regions and communities. Ensuring proportionate and risk-based regulation that respects banking diversity will be essential to preserving our capacity to finance the real economy and contribute to a strong and resilient European financial system.”
In 2025, the EACB reaffirmed its role as a trusted interlocutor with European policymakers, providing expertise on a range of regulatory and policy files shaping the financial system. The association contributed actively to discussions on prudential rules, crisis management and deposit insurance (CMDI), governance requirements, sustainability reporting and supervisory convergence, while continuing its engagement on major digital and payments initiatives including the Payment Services Regulation (PSR), Financial Data Access (FiDA), the digital euro and the EU’s broader data and cybersecurity framework. The EACB also supported the operational setup of the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and contributed its insight to negotiations on the anti-money laundering package, while promoting proportionate and risk-based regulation that respects Europe’s banking diversity and safeguards cooperative banks’ mission to support households, SMEs, farmers and regional economies.
Nina Schindler, CEO of the EACB, added:
“During the year under review, the EACB ensured that the cooperative banking perspective was clearly represented across key policy discussions shaping Europe’s financial sector. I would like to thank our Secretariat and the many experts from our member banks whose engagement continues to strengthen our collective voice. Building on the momentum of the International Year of Cooperatives, we look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with EU institutions in the year ahead.”
The renewed recognition of the cooperative model during the International Year of Cooperatives 2025, with the adoption of a United Nations resolution recognising the role of these enterprises as drivers of sustainable and inclusive development, was a timely signal about the continued relevance of the model at European and global level.
The full Annual Report 2025 is available for download on the EACB website.