The EACB welcomes the opportunity to participate in the Commission’s targeted consultation on the proposal for a Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions. Cooperative Banks with about 87 million member, 223 million customers and 749,000 employees s stand for one of the strongest cooperative sectors in the EU.
The social aspect of cooperative banking is a core element of the self-understanding of EACB members.
For cooperative banks, one of the priorities of the Council Recommendation on developing social economy framework conditions should be to enhance the visibility of cooperatives operating in the EU banking sector, as well as to develop the understanding of their specific features, identity, business model and regulatory particularities.
Among the others, the Council Recommendation shall be aimed to raise awareness among national authorities, specifically including the banking regulators and supervisors, of the specificities of the mutualist model and the possibilities for reducing the administrative burden.
Our detailed comments on are outlined in the paper attached.