How to Draw a Cooperative Bank Group on an Org Chart
Draw a mutual banking group: local banks, regional banks, the holding that links them to the listed central body and its business lines, with lines that mean ownership, not reporting.
A cooperative bank group is owned from the bottom up. The chart shows who owns whom, which box is listed, and which business lines sit under the central body.
The short version
- Start with the members and local banks, then draw each layer of ownership above them.
- Label every box by its role: local bank, regional bank, holding company or listed central body.
- Say in a note that lines mean ownership, not reporting.
- Place the federation beside the ownership chain, and the business lines under the central body.
- Check the chart against a process, such as a credit decision, so each step has an owner on the right layer.
In a mutual group, the lines run upward
In an ordinary company the owner sits at the top and the lines run down to the units it controls. A cooperative group works the other way. Members own local banks, local banks own regional banks, and the regional banks own the central body that is listed on the stock market. If you draw it with the central body on top and every line meaning "reports to", the chart says the opposite of what the group is.
Start from the members and move up one layer at a time, naming each layer for what it is: local bank, regional bank, holding company, listed central body. Keep the federation that represents the regional banks beside the chain rather than inside it. Then hang the business lines (retail, corporate and investment banking, asset management, insurance) from the central body, because that is where they are run.
The chart below is the editable Crédit Agricole chart, built from the group's 2025 results and structure pages. A second chart, a customer credit approval, shows why the layers matter: a credit decision has a limit of delegated authority, and in a group of independent banks the question of which bank holds that authority decides who must sign.
Build a mutual group in three stages
Watch the Crédit Agricole chart grow from the local banks to the regional banks, then to the holding, the listed central body and its business lines.
Start with the bottom of the pyramid
Draw the local banks, owned by their mutual shareholders, and the regional banks that they own. The regional banks are independent cooperative banks, so label them that way and do not draw them as branches of a head office.
Add the holding and the listed central body
Above the regional banks go the holding company that carries their stake and the federation that represents them, then the listed central body. The central body is listed, and the regional banks keep a majority of its shares, which belongs in its subtitle.
Hang the business lines from the central body
Retail banking in France, international retail banking, large customers, specialised financial services, and asset gathering and insurance sit under the listed central body, because it runs them. The chart is complete when a reader can say who owns each box and who runs it.
Check the layers against a real process: a credit decision
A credit decision depends on who holds the authority to approve a limit. Here is a customer credit approval built in three stages, so you can check that each step has an owner on the right layer of the group.
Write the steps and decisions
Start with the application, the identity and screening checks, the credit report and the decision on the limit. At this point nobody owns a step, which is the gap the group chart helps to close.
Give each step an owner
Give each step a lane for a role at the bank that takes the decision. If the limit is above what the local bank may approve, the work moves to the next layer, and the chart should show which bank that is.
Complete the process with its handoffs
The full process adds security, loading the limit and monitoring. Check that the person who loads and monitors the limit belongs to the same bank as the person who approved it.
How it works
Start with the members and local banks
Put the local banks at the foot of the chart and write who owns them. Use the group's own structure page as your source and write its date next to the chart.
Add the regional banks
Add the regional banks above the local banks and label them as independent cooperative banks. Write their number if the group publishes it for the date you are drawing.
Add the holding and the federation
Add the holding company that carries the regional banks' stake, and put the federation beside it, not in the chain, because it represents the banks and does not own them.
Add the listed central body
Add the central body above the holding and write on its box that it is listed and what share the regional banks hold.
Hang the business lines from the central body
Add the group's reported business lines under the central body, using the names in its results. Keep them as business lines, not as separate legal entities.
Write what the lines mean
Add a note that lines show ownership and group membership. A reader should not take them for an instruction chain.
Check it against a process
Open a process such as a credit decision and give each step a lane that matches a role at the right bank. Fix gaps in the chart or in the process.
Mistakes to avoid
Putting the central body on top with reporting lines
The listed body does not own the regional banks, they own it. Draw the ownership chain upward and say what the lines mean.
Drawing regional banks as branches
Each regional bank is a separate cooperative with its own members. A branch has no owners of its own, so label them as banks.
Leaving out the share
A box with no percentage hides who controls the listed body. Write the regional banks' share on its box, with a date.
Treating the chart as a legal register
A group has many subsidiaries. Draw the ones a reader needs to follow the structure and say that the chart is a view, not a list of every entity.
Create your cooperative group chart
Open the editable Crédit Agricole chart, replace the names with your own group and keep the date of your source.
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is a cooperative bank group?
It is a group of banks owned by their customers or members rather than by outside shareholders. Draw it as layers of ownership from the members upward.
Should the members appear on the chart?
Yes, at the foot, because they are the owners. A single box labeled for the mutual shareholders is enough.
Does a line mean the central body manages the regional banks?
No. On this chart a line means ownership or membership. Who manages whom is a separate question for a people chart.
Where does the business-line structure go?
Under the listed central body, because it runs retail, corporate banking, asset management and insurance for the group.