The paper aims to analyse the development of retail financial services in conditions of government intervention. It is argued that excessive state control of the market for retail financial services is needed in times of crisis and increased moral hazard occurrence but is not effective in the long term. Development could be achieved by expanding privatization in the banking sector and permitting the sector to function freely according to market rules.
This paper tries to solve theoretically the problem of interest rate determination by a co-operative bank in the absence of preferential treatment of its members (owners) against non-members in terms of charged interest rates. The optimisation model considers bank’s borrower-, depositor- and neutral-oriented policy as well as purely commercial (profi t-oriented) approach. Obtained results indicate that the optimal rates on loans and deposits at a co-operative bank depend mainly on its preference. They are also infl uenced by market interest rates and bank’s balance sheet and income statement elements. The paper contributes to an increased understanding of behaviour of co-operative bank as social economy organisation and adds to the models of optimal interest rates setting in co-operative fi nancial institutions.