THE ROLE OF CO-OPERATIVE BANK: Perspectives from Italian Model

Th e text deals with co-operative banks in Italy. Th e authors intend to highlight the role of co-operative banks, their functions and territorial specifi cities. Th e term “co-operative banks” implies two diff erent types of credit intermediaries integrated in a system that has as its reference model the one of universal bank: the community banks and co-operative banks. While sharing some distinctive features, the two types of cooperative banks in Italy show signifi cant diff erences for both the historical evolution of the respective institutional models and about the operation that in time characterized them. Th e co-operative banks combine the social and cultural growth of the territory to the economic, social and co-operative business partner-stockholders-clients and business partnerstockholders-employees. In the special chapter, was made a reference to the forms of co-operative credit in Serbia. In the fi nal chapter was made the research proposal.