Vers une économie industrielle des alliances bancaires ?

Abstract

Towards an industrial economy of banking alliances ? In order to broaden the scope of investigation of industrial banking economy, this article aims at checking if the analytical body of industrial alliances can serve as a reference for the understanding of banking alliances. While banking alliances seem to be an appropriate answer to the new competitive environment, their interpretation by the theoretical body of industrial cooperation shows that it is possible to borrow concepts from industrial economy and to apply them to financial intermediaries. For example, it has been possible to outline a typology and to search a theoretical explanation for alliances between banks based on ideas originally developed in actual industries. This conceptual transfer needs, however, to adapt actual tools to the specificity of banking activity. Therefore, the approach in terms of transaction cost seems more appropriate to the explanation of vertical and horizontal alliances. In the same way, the analysis in terms of complementariness, which finds in network and know-how a satisfactory field of application, does not take into account some incentives, like the will to share risks. As regards interpretation by the learning process, the increasing importance attached to innovation and technology in industrial cooperation makes the adaptation effort even stronger. seems more appropriate to the explanation of vertical and horizontal alliances. In the same way, the analysis in terms of complementariness, which finds in network and know-how a satisfactory field of application, does not take into account some incentives, like the will to share risks. As regards interpretation by the learning process, the increasing importance attached to innovation and technology in industrial cooperation makes the adaptation effort even stronger.