Are cooperative banks a lever for promoting bank stability? Evidence from the recent financial crisis in OECD countries

Based on a sample of cooperative, savings, and commercial banks from OECD\r\ncountries, this paper examines whether and to what extent cooperative banks\r\naffected average bank soundness during 2001–2010. To account for the impact of\r\nthe recent financial crisis, we analyse separately the pre‐crisis period (2001–2006)\r\nand crisis years (2007–2010). Unlike published claims that blame the fragility of\r\nbanking systems on the presence of non–profit‐maximising entities, our main\r\nfinding is that cooperative banks have explanatory power for stabilisation during\r\nthe crisis years, but only above a certain market share threshold