Due to the traditional operational model of cooperative banks which is mostly based on financial intermediation, the range of a local bank’s social influence in a given environment is highly dependent on the money transfer balance, that is using local money to satisfy local needs. A typical...

Cooperative banks are widely seen as sustainable alternatives to profit-driven banking. However, while most banks struggle to meet the stringent capital requirements of regulators, cooperative banks are in particular need of cautious capital-related decisions given their little ability to...

Altruistic peer-to-peer lending, or crowd-sourced Internet microfinance, exposes a unique environment in which to observe cooperative behavior. Geographically diverse individuals coordinate to provide capital to others in need, often for minimal, or in the case of Kiva.org, zero financial...

Nonprofit banks in the U.S. are primarily organized as credit unions (CUs) and have grown steadily over the last two decades, increasing their share of total lending to U.S. households. This paper studies the economic effects of banking with CUs using consumer credit report data merged to...

Central banks in developing countries, wanting to devalue the domestic currency, usually intervene in the foreign exchange market by buying up foreign currency using domestic money-often backing this up with sterilization to counter inflationary pressures. Such interventions are usually...