Banco Credicoop

Banco Credicoop founded in Buenos Aires, Argentina on February 19, 1979, trough the merger of 44 Argentine credit unions. It is now the largest cooperatively-owned bank in Argentina.

The merger was motivated largely by the adverse effect Economy Minister José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz's Financial Entities Law of 1977 had on the banking sector in Argentina. The policy encouraged commercial banks in Argentina to offer high-yield, exotic investments by extending the Central Bank's guarantee to losses accrued from these financial vehicles. This practice collapsed between 1980 and 1982, however, and hundreds of unregulated, non-banking financial institutions, as well as numerous banks, closed.

Banco Credicoop moves in banking, insurance and pension funds. The products that they offer are retail banking, insurance, investment, accounting and payroll, mortgages, consumer finance and credit cards. Today, with US$ 2.8 billion, Banco Credicoop is Argentina’s eleventh-largest bank by assets and ninth-largest bank by deposits. Credicoop maintains 244 branches with over six hundreds and seventy thousands members.

This institution is organized as a credit union, and operates as a non-profit cooperative. Each member is given one vote at all shareholder meetings, and the top ten depositors account for less than 10% of deposits. The credit union provides personal and business financial and accounting services; since 1980, it has issued Cabal, the only cooperatively-managed credit card in Argentina. The group also manages the Previsol Pension Fund and numerous insurers. Credicoop is a standing member of the International Co-operative Alliance.