As member of the board of the Swiss Raiffeisen Group, Franco Taisch was invited to the sectorial meeting on banking at the International Summit of Cooperatives 2016 in Quebec (October 11-13, 2016). On one of the main round tables, he discussed with CEOs and board members of Crédit Mutuel (France), Norinchukin Bank (Japan), Raiffeisen Austria (Austria) and EACB European Association of Co-operative Banks (Belgium) how to stimulate growth through appropriate regulation.
Franco Taisch emphasized the need for regulation but at the same time for diversity in regulation and room for entrepreneurial creativity and risk taking. Regulating everything, and this in the same way, will lead to concentration risks, will limit innovation to small mainstream steps within tight boundaries and will eliminate entrepreneurial spirit, i.e., risk taking. Sound eco-systems, sound growth of national and global economies need, as healthy bio-systems in nature, broad diversity and some open spaces.
The cooperative enterprises gathered in Quebec City with over 3000 representatives of over 100 nations, addressed the issue of cooperatives’ capacity to act in the social, environmental and economic spheres. In regard to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to 2030, cooperatives and mutuals recognize that they are a significant lever for introducing sustainable development strategies and for resolving the key global issues.