LA BASE SOCIAL DE LAS COOPERATIVAS DE CRéDITO. LA IMPORTANCIA DE LA RESPONSABILIDAD SOCIAL CORPORATIVA

During the last few years, the cooperatives savings banks sector is experiencing an important adaptation effort towards a more urban and tertiary environment. Although these cooperatives still retain their market shares in the rural areas, they are putting a strong emphasis in developing and growing within urban areas densely populated, offering a wide spectrum of interesting and competitive banking products. From their beginnings, such entities have shown responsible trends in their social interactions; therefore the social economy as well as the local development and their orientation to the shareholders were backed and encouraged. But this effective establishment of the corporative social responsibility is threatened as these entities develop due to a lesser extent participation of their shareholders, a diversification and of their banking activities and also due to a minor cooperative activity. Thus, taking seriously into account the data published by UNACC, INE and Banco de Espa a (1995-2008) an statistical and also a graphical indepth analysis is conducted to study the evolution and trends regarding the shareholders over customers and on investment credit operations ratios as well as the financial profitability. The intention of the cited study is to underline the role of the shareholder, its financial relevance and its influence on how the cooperative savings bank is managed.