Financial Instruments and Conflicts of Interest: Application to French Agricultural Co-operatives

Abstract

To finance their growth and value creation, agricultural co-operatives have at their disposal several financial instruments: equity, quasi-equity or debt. Many of these instruments are particularly innovative and have been designed specifically for co-operatives. In France, only recently have some co-operatives expanded their types of financing to include external funders through the issue of OTC- or publicly-traded securities.
Agricultural co-operatives' governance and economic projects are often misunderstood by external financial investors. The risk of conflicts of interest plays a role in these misunderstandings in the way retained earnings, returns to agricultural products brought by co-op member and returns to equity capital. Such risks are identified and answers are proposed.