13 July 2018 No 15/16 ISSN 1664-7963 Current Concerns PO Box CH-8044 Zurich Current Concerns Switzerland The international journal for independent thought, ethical standards, moral responsibility, Phone: +41 44 350 65 50 Fax: +41 44 350 65 51 and for the promotion and respect of public international law, human rights and humanitarian law E-Mail:
[email protected] Website: www.currentconcerns.ch English Edition of Zeit-Fragen The Raiffeisenbanks in Switzerland and the principle of cooperation Dr phil René Roca* For more than 20 years I have, with con- is based in St Gallen. If one studies Raif- viction, been a member of one of the 255 feisen Switzerland’s statutes, the special legally autonomous and cooperatively or- article stating the purpose of the associa- ganised Raiffeisenbanks. However, lately, tion (Article 3) is also remakable: “Raif- like many other members of the coopera- feisen Switzerland aims to propagate and tive, I have been alarmed by certain de- reinforce the cooperative ideas of Frie- velopments in this cooperative bank. The drich Wilhelm Raiffeisen in Switzerland Vincenz case, which I will not go into any [...]” Again, “mutual self-help” is men- further, is only symptomatic of these. tioned, and the “cooperative ideas of Frie- drich Wilhelm Raiffeisen” are even to be If you visit the website of my bank, the propagated and reinforced. Raiffeisenbank Rohrdorferberg-Fislis- th bach, you come across a comic strip, well- Cooperative roots in the 19 century made in terms of PR and in a prominent At this point it is needful to take a short position, which advertises membership of trip into history.