“Both structural changes and the recent financial crisis have created a context where, at least at the local level, the model of financial intermediation that credit co-operatives follow is encouraged to flourish: there are certain sections of the population that face increased difficulties to gain access to the financial system, while some peripheral communities and sectors are confronted with a more restricted set of options. Such a context is indicative of the role that credit co-operatives can play in “plugging the gap between local need and the mainstream services”. A cooperative bank’s internal evaluation should not focus only on their capacity to make profits and surpluses, but also on the effects on the territory of their activity, conciliating business efficiency and regional efficiency” (excerpt from Euricse website). Read more about the V Workshop on Cooperative Finance (here) We presented the paper “Social finance tools for cooperation and development: the cooperative banking sector as a potential pillar for impact investments in Greece”.