Gerhard Ortner
The future of cooperative banks in Austria
125 years "Österreichischer Genossenschaftsverband", 75 years "Österreichische Volksbanken AG". Schul-ze-Delitzsch cooperatives are successfully working by principles of self-help, self-administration and personal responsibility for more than 125 years. Since the federation of cooperatives was founded, the social and economic environment changed basically. A change in common values developed as well. On the one hand the cooperative banks claimed on their cooperate-philosophy, on the other hand they created a promising vision to meet recent demand. The Austrian cooperative-banks meet global competition and the challange of the european community by taking the chance to raise private initiative and to escape the dead end of overcharged welfarism.