The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound policy research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe. The views expressed are entirely those of the authors. This book is the result of a two-year research project designed by the Financial Institutions and Prudential Policy (FIPP) unit of CEPS and led by Rym Ayadi. The project’s Scientific Committee includes Rym Ayadi, Senior Research Fellow and Head of FIPP at CEPS, David T. Llewellyn, Loughborough University, CASS Business School and the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, and Reinhard H. Schmidt, Professor at the University of Frankfurt. The research team is composed of the members of the Scientific Committee and researchers from CEPS, Emrah Arbak, Researcher, and Willem Pieter De Groen, Research Assistant. This study completes earlier research that was published in 2009 on the same topic with a focus on savings banks in Europe. Support was received from the European Association of Cooperative Banks (EACB).