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{{Short description|Category of non-profit financial institutions}}
{{Distinguish|Cooperative banking|Public bank|Postal savings system|Savings and loan association}}
{{Banking |banks}}

A '''savings bank''' is a [[financial institution]] that is not run on a profit-maximizing basis, and whose original or primary purpose is collecting deposits on [[savings account]]s that are invested on a low-risk basis and receive [[interest]]. Savings banks have mostly existed as a separate category in [[Europe]].

Savings banks originated in late-18th century Europe as a development of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], and became a Europe-wide phenomenon in the first half of the 19th century.<ref name=CCL>{{citation |journal=Revue d'histoire du XIXe siècle |url=https://journals.openedition.org/rh19/681?lang=en |title=Histoire des Caisses d'épargne en France. 1818-1881. Une étude sociale |author=Carole Christen-Lécuyer |year=2004 |issue=28| doi=10.4000/rh19.681 }}</ref> The trajectories of savings bank systems then diverged across European nations, variously leading to the formation of integrated banking groups, cohesive national networks, conversion into [[cooperative banking]] or [[commercial bank]]ing entities, and/or piecemeal consolidation with other credit institutions. In most countries, the surviving savings banks have private-sector status and no longer operate under a distinctive legislative framework; significant exceptions include Germany and Luxembourg, where savings banks are public-sector entities.

==Naming==
In many European languages, savings banks are referred to by a word that differentiates them from banks ({{langx|fr|caisse}}, {{langx|de|Kasse}}, {{langx|it|cassa}}, {{langx|ru|касса}}, {{langx|es|caja}}) and denotes their more restricted scope of activity, sometimes translated as "fund". That word has no direct equivalent in English; its etymology is identical with that of [[cash]] and it originally referred to a [[safe|cash box]], then a [[cash register]].

==Overview==
The origin of savings banks lies in liberal and philanthropic aspirations that motivated their promoters to create non-profit establishments aimed at promoting a culture of thrift and financial prudence among the lower classes, and using [[saving]]s and the logic of [[compound interest]] as an incentive to think beyond short-term living horizons. In France, savings banks projects started to emerge in the 1750s and multiplied during the [[French Revolution]] but with no lasting success. Liberal luminaries including [[Adam Smith]], [[Thomas Robert Malthus]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Say]] took interest in the economic and social role of savings.<ref name=CCL/>

The oldest lasting savings bank is widely recognized to have been the {{lang|de|Ersparungsclasse der Allgemeinen Versorgungsanstalt}} established in [[Hamburg]] in 1778, followed by other endeavors in Germany and Switzerland in the late 18th century. Savings banks mushroomed in the early 19th century, with landmark establishments in [[Sparkasse Göttingen|Göttingen]] (1801, first municipal savings bank), [[Ruthwell Savings Bank|Ruthwell, Scotland]] (1810, first in the United Kingdom), [[Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston|Boston]] (1816, first in the United States), [[Caisse d'Épargne de Paris|Paris]] (1818, first in France), and [[Erste Bank|Vienna]] (1819, first in the Austrian Empire). Even so, origin stories of the savings bank concept were long disputed. In 1914, the ''New Student's Reference Work'' said of the origins of savings banks:<ref>{{wikisource-inline|The New Student's Reference Work/Banks|Banks from The New Student's Reference Work|single=true}}</ref>
{{Quote|France claims the credit of being the mother of savings banks, basing this claim on a savings bank said to have been established in 1765 in the town of [[Brumath]], but it is of record that the savings bank idea was suggested in England as early as 1697. There was a savings bank in Hamburg, Germany, in 1778 and in Berne, Switzerland, in 1787. The first English savings bank was established in 1799, and postal savings banks were started in England in 1861.}}

The original function of savings banks to service consumers was limited to savings, not borrowing, a foundational difference with [[cooperative banking]] which started developing a bit later during the 19th century. Savings banks were typically heavily regulated and supervised by local or national governments, and restricted to invest only in [[government debt]] or other instruments deemed of low financial risk. Over time, however, these distinctions have tended to erode, and over the 20th century the regulatory framework and business model of savings banks has largely converged with those of commercial banks, albeit with significant variations across jurisdictions. 

Starting in 1861 with the establishment of the British [[National Savings and Investments|Post Office Savings Bank]], savings banks were increasingly subject to competition from [[postal savings system]]s which similarly collected retail savings and invested them in safe government securities, albeit with variations across countries; some of the postal banks have themselves been called "savings banks", e.g. the [[Rijkspostspaarbank]] in the Netherlands (est. 1881), the [[Caisse Nationale d'Épargne]] in France (est. 1882), the [[Österreichische Postsparkasse|Austrian Postsparkasse]] and [[Hungarian Postal Savings Bank]] in Austria-Hungary (est. 1882 and 1886 respectively), the [[People's Own Savings Bank]] in Zimbabwe (est. 1904, renamed in 1999), the [[Government Savings Bank (Thailand)|Government Savings Bank]] in Thailand (est. 1913), the Caisse d'Épargne de Madagascar (est. 1918), and the [[National Savings Bank (Sri Lanka)|National Savings Bank]] in Sri Lanka (est. 1971), and the [[Postal Savings Bank of China]] (est. 2007). 

After a long period of relative stability, including through two world wars and the [[European banking crisis of 1931]] during which they were comparatively less affected than commercial banks, the savings banks came under increasing competitive pressure during the interest rate turmoil of the 1970s and underwent significant transformation and restructuring in many jurisdictions during the last quarter of the 20th century. By the early 21st century, savings banks were most significant in Germany and Spain, and to a lesser extent in Austria.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273905671 |title=Caisses d'épargne et banques coopératives en Europe |date=September 2013 |journal=Revue d'économie financière |issue=3 |author=Dilek Bülbül, Reinhard H. Schmidt & Ulrich Schüwer|volume=111 }}</ref>{{rp|164}}

In [[Single-tier banking system|Communist banking systems]] during the 20th century, monopolistic national retail banking networks were often labeled as savings banks. The label survives in the names of several significant Central and Eastern European commercial banks such as [[DSK Bank]] in Bulgaria, [[Česká spořitelna]] in Czechia, [[OTP Bank]] in Hungary, [[PKO Bank Polski]] in Poland, [[Sberbank]] in Russia, [[Slovenská sporiteľňa]] in Slovakia, and [[Oschadbank]] in Ukraine. Other non-European banks (other than postal savings systems or their successors) similarly named include the [[Botswana Savings Bank]] and {{ill|Savings and Social Development Bank|ar|مصرف الادخار والتنمية الاجتماعية}} in [[Sudan]].

==By country==
By chronological order of inception (not including [[postal savings system]]s): 
* [[Germany]]: while the {{lang|de|Ersparungskasse der Allgemeinen Versorgungsanstalt}}, est. 1778 in [[Hamburg]], was a philanthropic endeavor, the dominant model for German savings banks has been sponsorship by local government, starting in [[Göttingen]] in 1801. In the early 20th century, savings banks created regional clearing entities, later known as [[Landesbank]]s, soon followed by the national [[Deutsche Girozentrale]] (est. 1918). The German savings banks sector is currently operating as a group with some centralized functions but decentralized organization, the [[Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe]] which relies on a group-wide [[institutional protection scheme]].
* [[Switzerland]]: an early savings bank ({{langx|de|Dienstenkasse}}) was established in [[Bern]] in 1787.<ref>{{citation |title=Das Sparkassenwesen |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40745850 |author=Max Seidel |journal=Zeitschrift für die gesamte Staatswissenschaft / Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics|issue=1 |year=1908 | volume=64 |pages=58–107| jstor=40745850 }}</ref>{{rp|60}} The oldest one still extant is [[Sparkasse Schwyz]] (est. 1812). As of 2022, there were 59 {{ill|Swiss regional and savings banks|de|Regionalbanken und Sparkassen (Schweiz)}} forming a decentralized network.
* [[United Kingdom]]: the [[Ruthwell Savings Bank]] (est. 1810) is often referred to as the first British savings bank, with competing claims about the [[Tottenham]] Female Benefit Club and Children's Bank (est. 1798 by philanthropist [[Priscilla Wakefield]]) and the [[Edinburgh Bank for Savings]] (est. 1814). In the 1970s and 1980s, surviving British savings banks consolidated into the [[Trustee Savings Bank]], which merged with [[Lloyds Bank]] in 1995, was again spun off as [[TSB Bank (United Kingdom)|TSB Bank]] in 2013, and was acquired by Spain's [[Banco Sabadell]] in 2015.
* [[Denmark]]: Holsteinsborg Saving Bank was established in 1810 in [[Skælskør]]. The Danish savings banks established a common national entity, the {{ill|Fællesbanken for Danmarks Sparekasser|da}}, in 1949. Their number declined from over 500 in the 1930s to a bit above 100 by the late 1980s. In 1986-1991, Fællesbanken was dismantled and its components acquired respectively by [[Hafnia Insurance]], [[Sydbank]] and [[Sparekassen Bikuben]], the latter a major savings bank that was eventually merged into [[Danske Bank]] in 2000. The other major savings bank, {{ill|Sparekassen SDS|da}}, merged in 1990 into what in 2000 became [[Nordea]]. The remaining savings banks in 1993 joined other smaller Danish commercial and cooperative banks to form a single association of Local Banks, Savings Banks and Cooperative Banks in Denmark, or {{ill|Lokale Pengeinstitutter|da}}.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23700776 |title=Organizational Culture and Organizational Change: The Transformation of Savings Banks in Denmark, 1965—1990 |author=Per H. Hansen |journal=Enterprise & Society |issue=4 |date=December 2007 |volume=8 |pages=920–953|doi=10.1093/es/khm071 |jstor=23700776 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Ireland]]: the first Irish [[trustee savings bank]] was founded in [[Waterford]] in 1816.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1965062300010?opendocument|title=Seanad Éireann - 23/Jun/1965 Trustee Savings Bank Bill, 1965: Second and Subsequent Stages.|access-date=29 January 2016}}</ref> By 1992, the trustee savings banks of Waterford and others in [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Dublin]], [[Monaghan]] and [[Limerick]] had consolidated into TSB Bank, which was acquired in 2001 by [[Irish Life and Permanent]] and rebranded [[Permanent TSB]].
* [[United States]]: [[mutual savings bank]]s started with the [[Provident Institution for Savings in the Town of Boston]] (est. 1816), and were heavily concentrated in the [[Northeastern United States]]. They were decimated at the start of the [[savings and loan crisis]] in the early 1980s, and more mutual savings banks failed later in the 1980s and 1990s while other converted to joint-stock status.<ref>{{citation |chapter-url=https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/history/211_234.pdf |location=Washington DC |chapter=The Mutual Savings Bank Crisis |title=History of the Eighties: Lessons for the Future |volume=1 |author=Alane Moysich |publisher=Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |year=1997}}</ref> As of 2024, the oldest surviving mutual savings bank is [[Liberty Bank]], established 1825 as Middletown Savings Bank. [[Federal savings bank]]s are savings banks chartered at the federal level.{{cn|date=April 2024}}
* [[Netherlands]]: the first Dutch savings bank ({{langx|nl|Spaarbank}}) was established in 1817 in [[Workum]]; 1848 saw the creation of the {{ill|Amsterdam Municipal Savings Bank|nl|Spaarbank voor de stad Amsterdam}}. In 1907, the savings banks started to operate as a national network ({{langx|nl|Spaarbankbond}}). In 1979-1983 the largest Dutch savings banks merged to form {{ill|VSB Group|nl|VSB Groep}} which in the 1990s became a founding component of [[Fortis Group]], itself dismantled in 2008 with the Dutch operations absorbed into [[ABN AMRO]]. Other savings banks merged into SNS Bank (for {{langx|nl|Samenwerkende Nederlandse Spaarbanken}}, {{lit|Dutch savings banks working together}}), later nationalized and renamed [[De Volksbank]] in 2017.
* [[France]]: following the [[Caisse d'Épargne de Paris]] (est. 1818), non-profit private-sector savings banks were created in numerous French towns and cities, and started developing a national organization of their own in the 1980s and 1990s. By legislation of 1999, the [[Groupe Caisse d'Épargne]] was converted into a [[cooperative banking]] group, which in 2009 merged with another cooperative group, [[Groupe Banque Populaire]], to form [[Groupe BPCE]].
* [[Austria]]: following the 1819 establishment of [[Erste Bank]] in [[Vienna]], Austrian savings banks have developed first as philanthropic associations and later as local government-sponsored entities. The 1980s and 1990s saw multiple rounds of reform and the departure from the network of the largest savings bank, Vienna's [[Zentralsparkasse]], which eventually became part of [[UniCredit]]. As a result of these changes, the [[Sparkassengruppe Österreich]] operates largely as a single commercial banking group (and is supervised as such under [[European Banking Supervision]]), with [[Erste Group Bank]] as its central entity.
* [[Slovenia]]: the [[Carniolan Savings Bank]] was established in 1820 (originally as ''Laibacher Sparkasse'') and remained the only financial institution in what is now Slovenia until the 1860s.<ref>{{cite web |website=Bankarium |title=The oldest monetary institution in Slovenia |url=https://bankarium.si/en/the-oldest-monetary-institution-in-slovenia/ }}</ref> More municipal savings banks were subsequently established, including the {{ill|Ljubljana Municipal Savings Bank|sl|Mestna hranilnica ljubljanska}} in 1889.
* [[Sweden]]: the first Swedish savings bank was established in 1820 in [[Gothenburg]]. During the [[Sweden financial crisis 1990–1994]], a number of them merged in 1992 to form a commercial banking group that has been branded [[Swedbank]] since 2006. Dozens of other savings banks survive, such as [[Westra Wermlands Sparbank]] in [[Värmland County]] (est. 1856).
* [[Italy]]: starting with [[Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia]] (est. 1822), a number of savings banks ({{langx|it|[[Cassa di Risparmio (disambiguation)|Cassa di Risparmio]]}}) were established in the Italian parts of the [[Austrian Empire]], followed by establishments in other Italian polities and after the [[unification of Italy]]. Italian savings banks never coalesced in a national network or group. In 1990, the legislation known as {{ill|legge Amato|it}} led to their conversion into joint-stock companies, with [[Associazione di Fondazioni e di Casse di Risparmio S.p.A.|independent banking foundations]] as shareholders. This triggered significant consolidation in the 1990s and 2000s into larger commercial banking groups. For example, the savings banks of [[Banca Carim|Rimini]] (est. 1840), [[La Spezia]] (1842), [[Cariparma|Parma]] (1859), and [[Cassa di Risparmio di Piacenza e Vigevano|Piacenza]] (1860) have become part of [[Crédit Agricole Italia]]; those of [[Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia|Venice]] and [[Cassa di Risparmio del Veneto|Padua]] (1822), [[Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde|Milan]] (1823), [[Banca CR Firenze|Florence]] (1829), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Prato|Prato]] (1830), [[Cassa di Risparmio del Friuli Venezia Giulia|Gorizia]] and [[Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e della Lucchesia|Pistoia]] (1831), [[Casse di Risparmio dell'Umbria|Spoleto]] (1836), [[Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna|Bologna]] (1837), [[Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì e della Romagna|Forlì]] (1839), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Ascoli Piceno|Ascoli Piceno]] (1842), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Civitavecchia|Civitavecchia]] (1847), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Cuneo|Cuneo]] and [[Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia di Viterbo|Viterbo]] (1855), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Foligno|Foligno]] (1857), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Calabria e Lucania|Calabria]] (1861), and {{ill|Cassa di Risparmio di Puglia{{!}}Apulia|it|Cassa di Risparmio di Puglia}} (1949) have become part of [[Intesa Sanpaolo]]; those of [[Cassa di Risparmio di Pisa|Pisa]] (1834), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca Pisa Livorno|Lucca]] (1835), [[Cassa di Risparmi di Livorno|Livorno]] (1836), and [[Cassa di Risparmio di Alessandria|Alessandria]] (1838), have become part of [[Banco BPM]]; those of [[Cassa di Risparmio di Ferrara|Ferrara]] (1838), [[Banca Carige|Genoa]] (1846), and [[Cassa di Risparmio della Provincia dell'Aquila|L'Aquila]] (1859) have become part of [[BPER Banca]]; and those of [[Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona|Verona]] (1825), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Torino|Turin]] (1827), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Roma|Rome]] (1836), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Trieste|Trieste]] (1842), [[Rolo Banca|Modena]] (1846), [[Cassa di Risparmio di Reggio Emilia|Reggio Emilia]] (1852), [[Sicilcassa|Sicily]] (1861), [[Cassa di Risparmio della Marca Trivigiana|Treviso]] (1907), and [[Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia|Perugia]] (1908) have become part of [[UniCredit]]. As of early 2024, a few savings banks still exist as independent entities in [[Cassa di Risparmio di Asti|Asti]], [[Südtiroler Sparkasse – Cassa di Risparmio di Bolzano|Bolzano]], [[Cassa di Risparmio di Cento|Cento]], [[Cassa di Risparmio di Fermo|Fermo]], [[Cassa di Risparmio di Fossano|Fossano]], [[La Cassa di Ravenna|Ravenna]], [[Banca Cassa di Risparmio di Savigliano|Savigliano]], and [[Cassa di Risparmio di Volterra|Volterra]].
* [[Norway]]: the [[savings banks in Norway]] started with the establishment of that of [[Oslo|Christiania]] in 1822. Still run decentrally, they have coalesced into two national networks, [[SpareBank 1]] (est. 1996) and [[Eika Gruppen]] (est. 1997). All savings banks are members of the [[Norwegian Savings Banks Association]].
* [[Finland]]: {{ill|Turun Säästöpankki|fi}}-Åbo Sparbank ({{lit|Turku Savings Bank}}) was established in 1822 in [[Turku]]. The number of Finnish savings banks reached more than four hundred in the mid-20th century, but has decreased since then to only 16. Of these, 15 participate in the decentralized Savings Bank Group ({{langx|fi|{{ill|Säästöpankkiryhmä|fi}}}}, est. 2014) while the {{ill|Oma Säästöpankki|fi}} (based in [[Seinäjoki]]) is run independently.
* [[Czech Republic]]: the [[Česká spořitelna]] ({{langx|de|Böhmische Sparkasse}}) was established in 1825 under the savings bank framework of the Austrian Empire. The savings banks in [[Czechoslovakia]] were consolidated in 1967 into a single State Savings Bank, then split in 1969 into a Czech and a Slovak components. In the post-Communist transition, Česká spořitelna was privatized and purchased in 2000 by [[Erste Group]].
* [[Spain]]: the ''[[Savings bank (Spain)|cajas de ahorros]]'' developed from 1835 legislation that emulated the French template. The [[2008–2014 Spanish financial crisis]] triggered massive restructuring and consolidation, by which many savings banks were liquidated, purchased by commercial banks, or consolidated into four savings banks groups: [[CaixaBank]], [[Ibercaja Banco|IberCaja]], [[Kutxabank]], and [[Unicaja]].
* [[Hungary]]: the [[First National Savings Bank of Pest]] established in 1839-1840, was converted in 1844 into a [[joint-stock company]]. From then, Hungarian entities named "savings bank" were essentially indistinguishable from commercial banks. In 1949, the Communist authorities established the National Savings Bank ({{langx|hu|Országos Takarék Pénztár}}), later known as [[OTP Bank]].
* [[Russia]]: in 1842, the Imperial government established savings banks in [[Saint Petersburg]] and [[Moscow]]. Like all Russian banks, savings banks disappeared under [[war communism]] in the first few years of the [[Russian Revolution]]. They were re-established in 1922-1923 as the [[State Labor Savings Banks System of the USSR]]. In 1991, the Russian network of the Soviet Savings Banks System was reorganized as [[Sberbank]].
* [[Slovakia]]: the {{lang|de|Pressburger Spar-Casse}} was established in 1842 in today's [[Bratislava]], followed by other savings bank foundations in what is now Slovakia throughout the 1840s. Today's [[Slovenská sporiteľňa]], like its Czech equivalent, results from the 1969 division of the State Savings Bank of Czechoslovakia. It was also purchased by [[Erste Group]] in 2001.
* [[Croatia]]: as in Hungary (with which Croatia was tied politically until [[World War I]]), "savings banks" were largely undistinguishable from commercial banks until the general destruction of the Croatian banking sector following [[World War II]]. These included the [[First Croatian Savings Bank]] (est. 1846) and [[City Savings Bank of Zagreb]] (est. 1913).
* [[Belgium]]: the [[Caisse Générale d'Épargne et de Retraite]] was created in two stages in 1850 and 1865 as a national savings institution. In the 1990s it was privatized and became part of [[Fortis Group]], since 2008 itself part of [[BNP Paribas]].
* [[New Zealand]]: The first trustee savings bank was the New Plymouth Savings Bank (est. 1850), later branded [[TSB (New Zealand)|TSB]]. Savings banks as a legal category disappeared in 1987, being replaced with so-called registered banks.<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5203176 |title=Liberalisation of financial markets in New Zealand |date=February 1998 |author=Arthur Grimes |journal=Reserve Bank of New Zealand Bulletin |volume=61 |issue=4}}</ref>
* [[Luxembourg]]: the [[Banque et Caisse d'Épargne de l'État|Caisse d'Épargne de l'État]], also known as ''Spuerkeess'', was established in 1856.
* [[Chile]]: the {{lang|es|Caja de Ahorros de Empleados Públicos de Chile}} was established in 1858 for the specific benefit of government employees.
* [[Brazil]]: the {{lang|pt|Caixa Economica e Monte de Socorro}} ({{langx|pt|Savings Bank and Mount of Piety}}) was established in 1861, and merged with other public institutions in 1967 to form [[Caixa Econômica Federal]].
* [[Japan]]: the {{ill|Tokyo Savings Bank|ja|東京貯蔵銀行}} was established in 1880. The first national savings banks legislation was enacted in 1893, and by 1906 there were 486 savings banks in the country. Despite their inspiration by foreign models, Japanese savings banks had a more commercial or even speculative orientation, which led to widespread financial fragility among them. In 1921-1922, a long-delayed regulatory tightening led to all savings banks closing or merging into ordinary banks between then and the late 1940s, after which savings banks ceased to exist in Japan as a separate category. Several of the last remaining savings banks merged in May 1945 to form Japan Savings Bank Inc. ({{langx|ja|株式会社日本貯蓄銀行}}), which in 1948 renamed itself {{ill|Kyowa Bank|ja|協和銀行}} and eventually became part of [[Resona Holdings]] as the result of successive mergers and restructurings from 1991 to 2003. 
* [[Portugal]]: the {{lang|pt|Caixa Económica Portuguesa}} ({{lit|Portuguese Savings Bank}}) was established as a nationwide entity in 1880, and merged in 1885 with [[Caixa Geral de Depósitos]].
* [[Romania]]: the {{lang|ro|Casa de Depuneri și Consemnațiuni}} (est. 1864) was renamed {{lang|ro|Casa de Depuneri, Consemnațiuni și Economie}} ({{lit|Deposits, Consignments and Savings Bank}}) in 1880 and in 1881 established a subsidiary named the Savings Bank ({{langx|ro|Casa de Economie}}). It has remained state-owned and been branded [[CEC Bank]] since 2008.
* [[San Marino]]: the [[Cassa di Risparmio della Repubblica di San Marino]] was established in 1882.
* [[Panama]]: the {{lang|es|Caja de Ahorro en Panamá}} was established in 1934 as a national public bank.
* [[Poland]]: the General Savings Bank ({{langx|pl|Powszechna Kasa Oszczędności}}) was established in 1950 on the basis of the former postal saving system, since then known as [[PKO Bank Polski]].
* [[Peru]]: the {{lang|es|Cajas Municipales de Ahorro y Crédito}} ({{lit|municipal savings and credit banks}}) are [[microfinance]] institutions that have developed as municipally owned public enterprises since 1982.<ref>{{citation |url=https://publications.iadb.org/es/publicacion/14559/las-cajas-municipales-de-ahorro-y-credito-su-experiencia-en-el-micro-credito|title=Las cajas municipales de ahorro y crédito: su experiencia en el micro crédito rural en Perú |author=Felipe Portocarrero Maisch |publisher=Inter-American Development Bank |year=2000}}</ref>{{rp|11}}
* [[Bulgaria]]: the State Savings Bank ({{langx|bg|Държавна спестовна каса}} / DSK, est. 1951) has become [[DSK Bank]], eventually purchased by Hungary's [[OTP Bank]] in 2003.
* [[Ukraine]]: the State Specialized Commercial Savings Bank of Ukraine was established in 1991 from the former [[Savings Bank of the USSR]], and converted in 1999 into a state-owned joint-stock bank, the [[State Savings Bank of Ukraine]] ({{langx|uk|Державний ощадний банк України}}), also known as Oschadbank.
* [[Albania]]: the [[Savings Bank of Albania]] ({{langx|sq|Banka e Kursimeve e Shqipërisë}}) was established in 1992 and purchased in 2004 by [[Raiffeisen Bank International]].<ref>{{cite web |website=The Banker |url=https://www.thebanker.com/Austria-s-RZB-buys-Albania-s-biggest-bank-1073260800 |date={{date|2004/01/05}} |title=Austria's RZB buys Albania's biggest bank}}</ref>
* [[Botswana]]: the [[Botswana Savings Bank]] was established in 1992 as a national public development bank.
* [[Sudan]]: the {{ill|Savings and Social Development Bank|ar|مصرف الادخار والتنمية الاجتماعية}}, a microfinance institution, was established in 1995 in [[Khartoum]].
* [[North Macedonia]]: savings banks, such as {{ill|Opportunities Savings Bank|mk|Можности (штедилница)}} (est. 1996) and {{ill|Fulm Savings Banks|mk|Штедилница Фулм}} (est. 1999), are licensed microfinance institutions.

==Representation==
The [[World Savings Banks Institute]] (WSBI), was created in 1924 in [[Milan]], relocated in 1949 in [[Amsterdam]] and again in 1969 in [[Geneva]] and in 1994 in [[Brussels]]. Since then, the WSBI and the [[European Savings Banks Group]] (est. 1963) have operated as a single entity, representing savings banks on a European and global basis and serves as a forum to compare savings banks practices. Most of its non-European members are [[cooperative bank]]s, [[public bank]]s, or [[postal savings system]]s rather than savings banks in the original European sense.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsbi-esbg.org/about-wsbi/our-members/ |website=WSBI-ESBG |title=WSBI Members}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Banks}}
* [[Eufiserv]]

==References==
<!-- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref> and </ref> tags, and the template below. -->
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* "Liberalisation of financial markets in New Zealand" Arthur Grimes, Institute of Policy Studies, [[Victoria University of Wellington]], Wellington, 1998  [http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research/bulletin/1997_2001/1998dec61_4grimes.pdf] Retrieved Feb. 11, 2006.
* Tiwari, Rajnish and Buse, Stephan (2006): [http://www.mobile-prospects.com/publications/files/German_Banking_Sector.pdf The German Banking Sector: Competition, Consolidation and Contentment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160330071658/http://www.mobile-prospects.com/publications/files/German_Banking_Sector.pdf |date=2016-03-30 }}, Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg-Harburg)
* Brunner, A., Decressin, J. / Hardy, D. / Kudela, B. (2004): Germany’s Three-Pillar Banking System – Cross-Country Perspectives in Europe, Occasional Paper, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C. 2004.
* Mauri, Arnaldo (1969). ''The Promotion of Thrift and of Savings Banks in Developing Countries'', International Savings Bank Institute, Geneva.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Savings banks}}
* [http://www.wsbi-esbg.org/ World Savings and Retail Banking Institute / European Savings and Retail Banking Group]
* [https://ideas.repec.org/a/erv/contri/y2011i2011-0514.html Crisis y Reforma de las Cajas de Ahorros en España]

{{Means of Exchange}}
{{Money and central banking within the contemporary United States (pre–1913)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Banks]]