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Federal regulators in 2010 amended lending rules to allow federal credit unions (FCU) to originate short‐term, small‐dollar amount loans, with an annual percentage rate of up to 1000 basis points above the otherwise imposed interest rate ceiling of 18 percent. The purpose of the change in policy was to allow FCUs the ability to provide their members with an alternative to payday loans. We find the decision to originate these higher‐interest loans is primarily influenced by the characteristics of a credit union's environment. Credit unions located in minority neighborhoods and in markets with fewer traditional financial services are more likely to participate in the payday alternative loan program. Participation in the program is shown to improve earnings performance without adversely affecting participants' loan quality. These results suggest credit unions can provide lower‐priced alternatives to payday loans that are beneficial to members and their credit unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify the determining factors of Open Membership in Brazilian credit unions between 2016 and 2020. Methodology: A logistic regression model was used to estimate these factors. The analysis considered both specific internal variables of the cooperatives (age, asset size, number of members, and affiliation to systems) and variables representing the macroeconomic environment in which these institutions operate (municipal development index, population size in municipalities with service points (PACs) and cooperative headquarters). Results: The main results indicate that a lower population size in the municipalities containing the cooperative headquarters and PACs increases the probability of Open Membership. Additionally, cooperatives with a larger number of members and assets also have a higher likelihood of adopting Open Membership. Contributions of the Study: The study highlights the predominance of cooperatives with Open Membership in smaller and less developed municipalities, reinforcing the role of these cooperatives in social inclusion, reduction of inequalities, and provision of financial services and credit to the population in these locations. Moreover, the results provide valuable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and cooperatives interested in promoting socioeconomic development and equity in underserved communities by the financial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to analyze whether credit unions manage their accounting results in order to smooth them through the provision for doubtful accounts (income smoothing), from a default perspective. Methodology: The sample reaches 938 unique cooperatives considering the period from December 2010 to December 2018, with data from the Central Bank of Brazil, tested using the multiple regression statistical technique, in quarterly panels. Results: The variation in the stock of credit operations and the adjusted net income were not statistically significant in the model, however it was not possible to accept the hypothesis that credit unions use the allowance for loan losses (PCLD) as a mechanism for managing results. The interest rate implicit in the result of income from credit operations was significant, and therefore related to the PCLD variation, while the condition of free admission did not show statistical significance. The variation in default was significant in the model, with a negative coefficient, implying consistency with the earnings management hypothesis, since in a scenario of higher default (risk) the relationship is negative and, therefore, PCLD levels are lower, avoiding potential negative results. Contributions of the Study: The results indicate the absence of earnings management by PCLD in the sample and period, contributing to the discussion of the relationships between earnings management variables. This enables credit unions to reflect on their internal corporate governance structure. In addition, the evidence contributes to the progress of the literature on earnings manipulation in credit unions, for which there are few studies available and play an important role in the Brazilian market, ensuring funding flows to economic sectors not served by traditional banking institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify the determining factors of Open Membership in Brazilian credit unions between 2016 and 2020. Methodology: A logistic regression model was used to estimate these factors. The analysis considered both specific internal variables of the cooperatives (age, asset size, number of members, and affiliation to systems) and variables representing the macroeconomic environment in which these institutions operate (municipal development index, population size in municipalities with service points (PACs) and cooperative headquarters). Results: The main results indicate that a lower population size in the municipalities containing the cooperative headquarters and PACs increases the probability of Open Membership. Additionally, cooperatives with a larger number of members and assets also have a higher likelihood of adopting Open Membership. Contributions of the Study: The study highlights the predominance of cooperatives with Open Membership in smaller and less developed municipalities, reinforcing the role of these cooperatives in social inclusion, reduction of inequalities, and provision of financial services and credit to the population in these locations. Moreover, the results provide valuable insights for policymakers, financial institutions, and cooperatives interested in promoting socioeconomic development and equity in underserved communities by the financial system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study verified the existence of a non-linear relationship between diversification and the performance of Brazilian credit unions by analyzing panel data from 455 credit unions from June 2012 to December 2019. Through three regression models, estimated by the Systemic Generalized Method of Moments, it was identified that diversification has a non-linear U-shaped relationship with performance. This result demonstrates the existence of a minimum point for diversification, from which increases in diversification of financial products would provide positive effects on performance. This study stands out for bringing a curvilinear model for diversification in credit unions. This finding facilitates the understanding of which level of diversification is beneficial for the performance of credit unions, in addition to favoring the formation of strategies and analysis of the implementation of new financial products in credit unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From its inception, the Federal Reserve has operated payment systems that let banks move money for their customers. Checks, wire transfers, and electronic consumer payments all happen thanks to the Federal Reserve. Congress by statute specified which banks get access to the Fed’s payment services. For more than a century, the Federal Reserve provided services to all legally eligible banks. But when the Federal Reserve received requests for payments access from a cannabis-focused credit union and a cryptocurrency custody bank (both of whom are legally eligible), it denied them. The Fed also issued sweeping guidelines claiming discretion to conduct risk vetting and deny bank requests. These guidelines apply to all banks and reverberate far beyond cannabis and crypto. This Article examines whether the Federal Reserve’s payments discretion is as great as it now claims—a question that has been raised in five recent cases, but never answered. It concludes the Fed has overstepped. The language and structure of the Federal Reserve Act require that the Federal Reserve provide payment services to all eligible banks. In support of this statutory interpretation, the Article excavates long forgotten legislative history and more than a century of sometimes hidden Federal Reserve payments practices. It shows that although the Federal Reserve has some discretion over the payments it processes and terms under which it offers it payments services, the Fed’s discretion is not so broad that it can deny access to legally eligible banks. If the Fed wants to exclude banks, it should ask Congress to change the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study looks at whether credit unions, a type of microfinance, increase or decrease poverty in Cameroon from 2004 Q1 to 2021 Q4. Method/design: The fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic ordinary least square, and conical co‐integration is applied. Findings: The findings reveal a long‐term association between credit union measures and poverty levels. The results indicate that the number of credit unions, the number of commercial bank branches, and credit to the private sector negatively relate to poverty levels. This implies that as the number of credit unions increases, the poverty level increases as the credit unions tend to exploit the poor population. Outstanding deposits positively impact poverty levels, which imply that members' deposits alleviate poverty. Research implications: The government should refurbish the existing programs to enhance credit unions' activities to focus more on banking the poor population especially in remote areas. The credit unions should increase deposit mobilization from the public to empower individuals and businesses. The government should regulate the number of credit unions being created to limit exploitation. The government should intervene to ensure that credit unions' policy regarding lending, interest rates, and loan recovery procedures are mutually agreed upon by the parties. Originality/novelty: Limited studies used secondary data focusing on credit unions. The studies give conflicting results: Some studies reveal that microfinance banks positively affect poverty reduction. Some indicate negative effects of microfinance on poverty reduction. Others show that microfinance institutions do not significantly influence poverty reduction. Different opinions exist among depositors and borrowers of credit unions concerning poverty alleviation. Some credit union members hold that credit unions increase poverty, while others argue that credit unions alleviate poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main limitations of Carroll Pyramid Model is that it does not consider the differences in the dynamics of each business sector; nor has there been an adequate theoretical justification of the relative relevance of each of the four dimensions that compose it. This study explores the Social Responsibility practices reported by Credit Unions from the Carroll's Pyramid for a) establishing what type of information (economic, legal, ethical or discretionary) they are privileging in their Social Balance Sheet reports and b) recognizing to what extent there are differences in the way the model is expressed in this economic sector. To accomplish this, a qualitative research study was conducted through a content analysis of the social balance reports of 20 Colombian Credit Unions. The results show that the Carroll's Pyramid can adopt another type of order in the dimensions that compose it (economic, legal, ethical and discretionary), depending on the economic sector being studied or the type of organization being explored, however, differences found regarding Carroll's model were not radical as the differences found in other research which found a fully inverted pyramid. These findings pose challenges for cooperative organizations regarding compliance with the 2030 agenda and the mandatory annual report of Social Balance Sheet in Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The failure of several U.S. regional banks early in 2023 underlined Canada's reputation as home to a resilient banking sector where federal policymakers guard their jurisdictional responsibility over banking against populist impulses and trade off competition for financial stability. This article argues that conventional explanations for this observed stability are incomplete because they omit any discussion of federal policies that shaped the growth of a $550 billion provincially based credit union system. This article reconciles the resulting puzzle by showing how policymakers accommodated credit unions and used them to channel populist impulses but within the bounds of over‐arching financial stability concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to assess the perception of two officials in relation to the management control system (MCS) used to assess the performance of a Brazilian Credit Union. For this, a research instrument adapted from two studies by Ferreira and Otley (2006) and Beuren and Teixeira (2014) was applied to 82 employees representing 21.08% of the total number of employees of the cooperative. The data are treated by means of descriptive statistics and information entropy techniques. Among the results, it was observed that the SCG and the performance assessment of the cooperative are consolidated, with a mean response of 4.35, varying from level 4 (partial agreement) to 5 (total agreement). Also, one of the contributions of this study was the fact that it was provided to test in another context and segment the performance management and control instrument restructured by Beuren and Teixeira (2014), validating the proposed adaptation by the aforementioned authors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to strategic management theory, dynamic capability plays a significant role in enhancing organizational performance. Using a cross-sectional research design, the current study quantitatively assesses the mediating effect of dynamic capability on the relationships of total quality management, customer intellectual capital, and human resource management practice with the performance of microfinance institutions. An online survey involving 120 members of Induk Koperasi Kredit, a credit union association in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, is conducted. All the data are subjected to variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis. The obtained results demonstrate the significant and positive influence of total quality management and human resource management practice on dynamic capability. Furthermore, dynamic capability is found to mediate the relationship between total quality management and human resource management practice on the performance of microfinance institutions. However, this study is unable to conclude that total quality management and human resource management practice have any significant impact on the performance of microfinance institutions. Nonetheless, this study demonstrates the crucial need for microfinance institutions to enhance their management activities via dynamic capability to enhance performance. This is one of the earliest studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the capabilities and performance of microfinance institutions in Indonesia. Notably, the performance of microfinance institutions can be further sustained by improving customers' intellectual and dynamic capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study aims to investigate the correlation between ESG practices and the organizational resilience of credit unions. Design and methodology: This study utilizes a qualitative approach to examine, through thematic analysis, the annual sustainability and social responsibility reports published by the Sicredi and Unicred cooperatives between 2015 and 2021. Results: Both cooperatives in the study aimed to highlight their commitment to ESG issues, either through proactive practices or through compliance with regulations or resolutions. In addition, the analysis revealed the implementation of innovations and improved performance, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications: The findings suggest that ESG practices are associated with credit union organizational resilience, in terms of performance and innovation. Limitations: While there is an indication of a positive influence between ESG practices and credit union organizational resilience, there were no tests to confirm the relationship. This creates opportunities for further research. Originality/value: In a crisis-ridden scenario, questions arise about the interaction between ESG practices and organizational resilience. At the same time, credit unions are gaining importance in the national financial system, while adhering to the social principle of supporting their respective communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to describe the accountability practiced in credit unions. This study examines formal and informal practices and underlying approaches to accountability to members. Design/methodology/approach, namely with an ethnomethodological approach, this study explores accountability of Credit Union in Indonesia, through interviews and observations with practitioners, management, government, and credit union members, as well as documentation analysis. The results of the study found that Credit Union Sauan Sibarrung prioritizes accountability to members through the actualization of the vision and mission, which is manifested concretely in the preparation of programs (business plans) in the form of mindset transformation through Education and Training Programs, Savings and Loans Programs to increase the productivity and quality of life of members, Social and Economic Empowerment Programs to the fostered business groups and communities in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: this study aims to understand how the purpose of a credit union organization focused on humanizing financial relations can be institutionalized from the stakeholder's interpretation and action. Theoretical Framework: this purpose was analyzed based on the concepts of an integrated perspective in terms of sensemaking, construction of humanized relations, conscious capitalism, and organizing, which allowed for a contextualized and non-linear reflection on the studied phenomenon, going beyond formal and tangible parameters of the manifested expectations of the cooperative's strategic guidelines. Methods: the research strategy is a case study for presenting the uniqueness of a specific phenomenon, using content analysis as a technique from the data triangulation of semistructured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Results: as a result, it was possible to conclude that the legitimacy of the cooperative's strategic purpose goes through an interpretative process of individuals and their different roles that, when interacting among themselves, provide a basis for actions toward incorporating the purpose with a focus on humanized relations because it is a process of social construction and retrospective re-signification of strategic parameters that delineate behaviors. Conclusions: this study provides an expanded look at a specific phenomenon (humanized financial relations) in organizations guided by particular and universal principles (credit unions) that, while competing with non-cooperative financial institutions (banks), need to balance economic and social interests, without ceasing to be competitive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To explain the performance of Brazilian credit unions, focusing on the institutions with the best segmentation level in the National Financial System (NFS). Originality/value: This study used a scenario not yet explored seeking to relate a homogeneous group of unions selected through the NFS segmentation framework and applying financial indexes standardized by the World Council of Credit Unions (Woccu), known as the PEARLS System, to fill, in a practical way, a gap regarding the perspective of identification of factors that impact the performance of Brazilian credit unions. Design/methodology/approach: The statistical technique of multiple linear regression was used, operationalized by the ordinary least squares (OLS) method on a balanced panel in the period from 2009 to 2018, modeled with three performance proxies and explained by the Pearls key indexes, with a sample of 81 unions. Findings: The main results showed that cooperatives have low rates of profitability and that it is necessary to increase investments in productive assets. Regarding performance, the net loan portfolio (E1) is directly and positively associated with profitability (ROA and ROE) and to the adjusted net equity growth (CPLA). However, default (A1) reflects a tendency to consume the net institutional capital (E9) and compromises the growth of these institutions. Moreover, the credit portfolio is indeed the most valuable asset and one of the most responsible factors for the performance of Brazilian credit unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open membership and mergers are common transformations in the ownership structure in Brazilian credit unions. Following the logic that they are motivated by the expectations of members and directors, this study associates these transformations with the banking services rates offered by credit unions. We employ ordered and multinomial logit models to investigate whether abnormal positive bank spreads--reflecting rates that could offer few advantages to members and large private benefits to directors--increase the probability of transformation. Our results indicate that the expectations of members and directors explain credit unions' transformation, as seen in size and performance. The evidence reinforces that, under expectations of gains, members and directors play an active role in the decision to transform the ownership structure of credit unions, suggesting improvements in the corporate governance and incentives for mergers so that credit unions can grow to benefit members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1973 and 1977, at least twenty-seven feminist credit unions (FCUs) opened their doors in the United States. These financial institutions sought to address discrimination against women in lending and to provide a place to "recycle" money within the movement to fund feminist projects. During this same period, in 1974, Congress passed the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), which made discrimination in lending based on sex or marital status illegal. This article weaves together the history of the ECOA and FCUs to highlight the limits and possibilities of feminist institutions and reform. While historians have written about FCUs as examples of cultural feminism, this article uses internal documents, newsletters, and membership data to argue that FCUs were valuable and contested sites of intergroup organizing and feminist theorizing about capitalism, community, race, and class that defied simple categorizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit union cooperatives (CUCs) are member‐owned financial organisations that aim to improve the members' living standards in Thailand. The success of Thailand CUCs is significantly associated with their good governance practices. This study provides an overview of Thailand CUCs' governance practices and examines the impact of governance on the performance of Thailand CUCs. The study finds Thailand CUCs' success varies in terms of financial and social performance. The results suggest that Thailand CUCs' performance is affected by members' participation, the board of directors, the management team, as well as the organisations' age and size. This study extends the current limited knowledge on the governance‐performance nexus of Thailand CUCs in the literature, thus helping Thailand policymakers and practitioners boost both the financial and social performance of the CUCs in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares competing definitions of "banking deserts" and their applicability in characterizing access to physical financial institutions such as banks, credit unions, or farm credit lenders. Geostatistical techniques are used to locate and spatially analyze financial institutions in census tracts across the lower 48 United States. Logistic regression is used to identify the demographic, economic, and geographic determinants of access to financial institutions. Mapping results indicate that a significant majority of the U.S. population resides near at least one financial institution, challenging the suitability of the "desert" metaphor. Regression models instead measure the extent to which brick-and-mortar financial institutions serve a given area, finding that poverty, lower educational attainment, and lower population density, were consistently associated with being underserved by financial institutions. • Most of the U.S. population does not live in a "bank desert". • Relative level of service is a better way to examine access to banking. • Relative to the average tract, many places are underserved by financial institutions. • Dense, highly educated places are best served by financial institutions. • Poor, low density places are underserved (or not served) by financial institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a novel three-stage network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model (based on production, intermediation, and revenue generation operations) with bootstrapping to evaluate the performance of 14 of the largest Canadian credit unions for the period 2007–2017 and the impact of various events on this performance. For each analysis, we contrast the results of the network DEA with those of a black box DEA. We show that the former provides more insightful information regarding the sources of the inefficiencies. We first found that while overall, the credit unions showed high-efficiency ratios, there is room for improvement, especially for the production sub-process. Moreover, the efficiency of individual credit unions is not consistent across the three different stages. Through the years 2007–2017, the credit union system exhibits a relatively sharp decline in its efficiency, mainly due to managerial issues at the revenue generation stage. Our analyses show that the various stages of Canadian credit union operations have been affected by the 2007–2009 financial crisis, the low policy interest rates that occurred in the following years, and the fact that in Canada, the federal government has eliminated the discount on the federal tax rate. The credit unions can improve their performance at the different stages by exploring Fintech Solutions to reduce their operating costs, seeking a better mix of loans and securities investments, and improving their interest and saving rate settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role played by credit unions in financial inclusion in Chile. Using administrative individual-level data, we analyze the borrowing behavior of credit union debtors. The results find that credit unions contribute to financial inclusion: it is more likely that people with low income, elderly, women, and inhabitants of small communities, far from the large urban centers, borrow from credit unions. Also, we find that having a credit union commercial office in the county where individuals live increases their access to credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the impact of transformative technologies on collaborative partnerships with schools. It mentions that Virginia's General Assembly enacted legislation that required one credit in a stand-alone personal finance course for graduating students. It discusses the benefits of having credit unions in schools for students and communities.

Drawing on a corpus of 100 authentic telephone-mediated interactions from a British credit union, this paper is the first to examine narrative practices in debt collection encounters. It demonstrates that the credit union's debt collector routinely invites and supports indebted individuals' narratives using alignment and affiliation. Through a small stories approach, the paper therefore highlights that an organisation's core values and principles can be seen "in action" in the ways that a professional orients to lay-people's stories in professional-lay discourse. In this case, the collector's narrative practices are emblematic of the credit union's consciously ethical, responsible, and debtor-centric approach to collecting debt. The analysis also shows that indebted individuals perform important interactive work through their narrative accounts in terms of mitigating responsibility for their debt, constructing blameless and acceptable identities, and implicitly encouraging (or explicitly instructing) the collector to affiliate with their stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit unions can take the form of social impact businesses as they develop actions that generate consequences that minimize the condition of vulnerability and poverty. This study aimed to describe and analyze the social and economic impacts provided to students attended by an education program developed by the credit union Sicoob Credichapada. From a single exploratory case study, we used documentary analysis, interviews and unsystematic observation. The results show that the education program can generate positive results in young people, as financial education, life purposes, social awareness and leadership. The study sought to focus on the impacts of generating and managing resources and changing the life perspectives of students. From the exposure of these results, it is expected that other communities seek social transformation through businesses with social impact, such as credit unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a typo in Equation 12 (a "lambda" is missing). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loan book management is important to community credit union survival, particularly in deprived localities. Consistent with agency theory, prior studies of credit unions report an association among individual monitoring mechanisms, trade association monitoring, and female board representation, respectively, and reduced loan losses. This study provides a more nuanced understanding by investigating the moderating influence of these monitoring mechanisms on the relationship between loan losses and deprivation and by considering the effect of bundle combinations of different levels of the two monitoring mechanisms on loan losses. The results reveal that credit unions subject to trade association monitoring have the lowest loan losses. However, in the absence of trade association monitoring, female board representation has a moderating effect on loan losses as deprivation increases. Finally, trade association monitoring and female board representation have a substitutive, rather than a complementary effect on loan losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-related crisis has once again highlighted the relevance of the financial system. The last financial crisis had an intense impact on the banking system, causing a sharp decline in lending activity, which, in many cases, has resulted in an increasing risk of financial exclusion especially in those territories in demographic decline. In this context, credit unions, characterized by their small size, localism and vocation of proximity banking, have suffered a less marked deterioration in assets than the rest of the entities of the banking system. In addition, they operate in areas where the population density is lower, differentiating their activity from the business of lucrative banking contributing to alleviate the financial exclusion of a geographical nature in these spaces. In an attempt to vindicate the role of credit unions, in the development of the territories of depopulation Spain, the present work is proposed. The aim of this is, on the one hand, to analyze the relationship between the financial system, employment and population, and on the other, to check if the presence of credit unions is greater where both factors are weaker, providing service in the spaces not attended by financial intermediaries. To this end, an empirical study is presented based on a model of structural equations using a partial least squares technique for demographic and financial activity data in 2018, the province is used as a unit of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies of interest rate differentials between credit unions and commercial banks suffer from selection bias since they rely on data at the level of the financial institution or branch which cannot account for demand‐side or loan‐level characteristics. We improve on these studies by using household‐ and loan‐level data from the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances from 2001 to 2019. We find that, on average, households that receive auto loans from credit unions pay 0.70 percentage points less on interest rates for new vehicles—and 1.40 percentage points less on used vehicles—relative to observably similar households that receive auto loans from banks. The aggregated savings to credit union members is larger than the estimated value of the credit union corporate income tax exemption. Nonetheless, the benefit from lower auto loan rates is likely an underestimate of the true value to consumers of credit unions' presence in the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the peculiarities of the formation of traditions of financial support of private business and public associations in the lands of Ternopil region. The main trends in the formation and development of banking in the Western lands of Ukraine, including Ternopil region, are described. The main types of financial and credit companies that operated in the lands of Ternopil region in the late XVIII - early XX centuries are considered. It has founded out which banks were among the first in the city of Ternopil and region. It is investigated which institutions now function in the buildings of the first banks. The main reasons and purpose of creation of financial and credit societies by territorial communities at the end of XVIII - the beginning of XX centuries are substantiated. The role of rural cooperatives and banks in the life of Ukrainians during the Polish and Austro- Hungarian occupation is considered. The analysis of transformations of financial and credit institutions of Western Ukraine and Ternopil region after the Second World War and the arrival of the Soviet occupation regime is carried out. The main trends in the development of banking after Ukraine's independence have been studied. (The way which the structure of the banking system was presented in Ternopil region was considered). How the structure of the banking system was presented in Ternopil region is considered. The main directions and areas of activity that commercial banks have lent in large amounts, as well as those industries that are constantly underfunded by both the state and the banking sector are identified. The impact of the reform of the banking system of Ukraine in 2014- 2015 on the economic activity of banking and entrepreneurial business of Ternopil region is considered. Negative tendencies in the change of the structure of bank capital were revealed -- not in favor of national capital. The existence of risks of growth of foreign capital share in the banking sector of the national economy is substantiated. The main problems of development of credit unions under modern conditions (in the current circumstances) are revealed. The existence of interrelation and interdependence between the share of the national component in the capital of financial institutions and the level of development of strategically important economic and social statebuilding processes is proved. The main problems and ways to solve them are identified in order to expand the opportunities for financial support of national businesses and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the effect of revenue diversification on the financial performance of Credit Union in Brazil, from 2014 to 2018. Methodology: The panel data regression model was used and 263 credit unions were evaluated, making a total of 2,630 observations. The data were obtained from the Central Bank of Brazil. The variables were defined according to the study by Mathuva (2016), in which the dependent variables were ROA, ROE and their volatility measures. Results: The results indicated that the diversification of activities in the cooperatives positively influenced the financial performance, and the signs found indicated that the more balanced this process is, the better the result and the lower the risk, given by the volatility of returns. When specifically evaluating service revenues, that is, the direct effect of this revenue source, an inverse relationship with performance was found and that returns become more volatile as cooperatives increase service revenues. These results may be due both to the maturity stage of the cooperatives in these business lines whose participation in the formation of revenues is still low, as well as suggest that the performance of the cooperatives tends to be expanded by expanding the provision of services and at the same time strengthening existing business lines, in which the institution has comparative advantages. The combined effect of these different sources of funds is that, during the analyzed period, it had an influence on the performance of Brazilian credit unions. Contributions of the Study: Assessing the factors that influence the performance of credit unions contributes to the definition of growth promotion strategies for these institutions that play an important economic and social role in the provision of financial services. For the literature, this study contributes to understanding the behavior of credit cooperatives' performance in a context of expansion of service revenues by financial institutions, whose research is still incipient and not conclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the factors that determine the spread of credit unions and commercial banks, in order to identify signs of competitive advantage between cooperatives and banks. Methodology: Create a sample of longitudinal data, use the fixed effects model for data on the panel in order to observe various instructions in various periods of time, allowing for evidence of varied cross section in different periods of time. A sample consisted of semi-annual balance sheets, according to the accounting plan structure of the institutions of the national financial system - COSIF, available in the database of the Central Bank of Brazil - Ifdata, in the period from 2010 to 2017. Results: The results pointed to the spreads of the credit unions were smaller than the spreads of the commercial banks during the analyzed period, it was not identified a directly proportional relation between the attributes and the spreads, the fact that the cooperatives do not aim at the profits may have impact on the composition of its spreads, however, a tax exemption did not influence the generation of results. Contributions of the Study: This work contributes to the scientific community by analyzing the determinants of propagation for financial cooperatives, since few studies were found in the literature that it contemplated as cooperatives in its method. Comparisons were made with commercial banks and in this way we seek to identify factors that may or may not use the competitive advantages between these financial institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Credit unions (CUs) may respond to a financial shock differently than other types of banks because of their unique membership‐based governance structure. We exploit the financial crisis of 2008/09 as a negative shock to Brazilian banks and analyze the lending behavior of CUs in comparison to non‐CUs and the subsequent effects on the commercial clients' labor force. We find that during the financial crisis, CUs tightened their members' access to credit to a lesser extent (insurance effect) than did other bank types. Notably, the labor market impact of the insurance effect of CUs is positive for very small firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that affect the Canadian credit unions' financial performance which play an important role in providing financial services to the agriculture sector. Design/methodology/approach: We surveyed the literature to identify different performance metrics of credit unions and a set of possible factors that might affect their performance. We collected data related to different dependent and independent variables from financial statements and balance sheets of 189 credit unions and from general websites like Statistics Canada and Bank of Canada. Then, we imputed the missing data and developed fixed effect and random effect panel data regression models. First, we used return on asset as the main dependent variable. Afterwards, we used six performance metrics to check the robustness of our models. Findings: From an initial list of 16 possible factors that might affect the financial performance of a credit union, we were able to narrow the factors down to the nine most significant ones. It was observed that credit unions in the prairies were more likely to perform well financially as compared to other provinces. Membership size, the size of a credit union in terms of total assets, capital adequacy ratio, market penetration, diversification of income, inflation rate and provincial GDP and interest rates were significant. The cross-sectional analysis performed confirmed the findings of the fixed effect panel data models. Research limitations/implications: This study has a limitation concerning the number of years included into the time series analysis. Only ten years worth of data were available. Practical implications: Results provide credit union management, service providers for credit unions and market analysts with a current understanding of how different internal and external factors might affect return on assets, return on equity, delinquency, cash ratio, efficiency ratio, asset growth and loan growth. Our models can be used to predict financial performance of credit unions based on the defined significant variables. Originality/value: Although there is a wide body of literature that studies performance of banks, not many studies focus on credit unions. Moreover, the existing studies are based on credit unions in United States or Europe, and literature on Canadian credit unions is scarce. The data collected covered 189 Canadian credit unions. To our knowledge this is the first study that looks at the various internal, external and regulatory factors together that affect the credit unions in various jurisdictions of Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: the financial market has experienced sharp restructuring and mergers in recent decades. As banks expand the scope of their activities, they raise concerns about the impact on the sector's competitiveness. If the characteristics of the financial industry, which contribute to make the sector more concentrated, can make it less competitive, it implies assessing the relationship between concentration and competition. Objective: the general objective of this study is to promote diagnosis of the organization of the national credit market by calculating and analyzing concentration and competition indicators, between 2000 and 2019. Methods: to measure concentration, the Herfindahl-Hirschman and the Five Major Concentration Ratio indexes are used. The degree of competition is estimated via Lerner's econometric model applied to data displayed on a panel with accounting and financial information from financial institutions. Results: the results suggest that although the concentration has increased in the time frame considered, competitiveness has not deteriorated, reinforcing the argument of seminal references that concentration does not necessarily harm competition. Conclusion: in the absence of academic consensus, this work elucidates the relationship between concentration and competitiveness. Still, it gains relevance by pointing out the role of regulation and credit unions in increasing recent competition. The work thus becomes capable of supporting policies that promote contestability, such as initiatives that relax restrictions on the entry of non-banking institutions and financial technology companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legal purpose of credit co-operatives in Germany and Austria is to promote their members economically. However, legal restrictions prevent them from discriminating between members and non-members. Thus, they have difficulty generating economic benefits for their members. There are signs that they are gradually developing from being purely member- focused to somewhat third party-focused co-operatives striving for the common good. The question arises whether this hybridization is in the interest of their members. This article examines this question using quantitative data. The results indicate that members perceive activities geared toward the common good as enhancing their membership value and are applicable to credit co-operatives and credit unions that have difficulties providing economic benefits to their members, as is the case for Raiffeisen credit co-operatives in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]