While Spanish savings banks have recorded negative returns, the same sector in both Germany and Italy is not only showing positive return on assets but also better performance than the rest of the industry.
Some critics of mainstream banking have seized upon savings banks as the panacea for all the sector's supposed ills. A look at the numbers shows a more mixed picture. In Spain, of course, it is the savings banks or cajas which are very much at the heart of the problem, and Chart One comparing return on assets of savings banks with the rest of the industry shows their negative position. In Italy and Germany by contrast savings banks do better than the mainstream industry by this measure.
The UK has a much smaller savings bank sector and while in positive territory the returns are nothing to get excited about and lag those of the mainstream banks. Before recommending the savings banks' model further research may need to be done on different kinds of savings banks and why some are more successful than others.
To find out more about the profound trends changing the global landscape, see our analysis of this year's Top 1000 World Banks ranking.
