Files
Abstract
The Credit Agricole Mutuel in France, the Deutsche Genossenschaftsbank in the
Federal Republic of Germany, and the Rait't'eisen-Boerenleenbank in the
Netherlands have many points in common, or at least many similarities: their
history, nature, development in an agricultural and rural environment neglected
by the traditional banking system, and primary mission, which is financing
agriculture and the cooperative sector. However, after becoming sufficiently
large, they began to more closely resemble their competitors, the multipurpose
commercial banks. Do the limitations imposed by the need to develop and to
use modern management systems create a danger for these banks? Will they
lose their originality in a world where uniformity is common fare?