Abstract

By the end of the twentieth century, the universal bank scheme is generally adopted and in Italy it can be framed in two different legal structures, the joint stock corporation and the co-operative. While the attention has been high on identifying the eligible shareholder who could own qualified quotas of the bank equity, little effort has been devoted to understand which proprietary structure (be it the listed company, the private ownership, the State control, the Foundations) best suits the goal of running a bank. This reflection can lead to identify new fault lines, different from the well-known opposition commercial bank vs. investment bank.