INSTITUTE OF CREDIT AND NATIONAL BANK OF RURAL FUNDS 



lidity and Old Age of Workmen (i), the Milanese Istitute of Credit for 

 Co-operative Societies and a group of ordinary savings and popular banks. 

 The National Institute of Credit became a moral person in virtue of a royal 

 decree of 15 August 1913 (no. 1140) and now has a capital of 8,200,000 

 hras furnished by thirty-nine societies or establishments which it includes. 

 Its object is to afford credit to the co-operative societies of various 

 kind and their consortia, both being legally constituted. With such object 

 It undertakes the following business : a) it discounts for co-operative 

 societies and their consortia bills having two signatures of qualified and 

 - soh'eiit persons ; b) in exceptional cases, precautions being taken by the 

 council of administration, it makes direct advances to co-operative societies 

 on the bills they have accepted ; c) it grants advances on bills for work, 

 accepted bills, mandates of public administrations and the credit they afford ; 

 d) it grants loans and advances to co-operative institutions on the pledge 

 of securities of known safety or, in general, when the council of adminis- 

 tration has established guarantees and taken precautions ; e) it makes re- 

 coveries and payments on behalf of the co-operative societies, the societies 

 of mutual aid, etc. and serves them generally as a bank ; /) it rediscounts 

 the bills ceded to it, opens current liability accounts, accepts deposits from 

 co-operative societies and issues bonds bearing interest and maturing at 

 fixed dates. 



On the 36th of la.st March the ordinary general meeting of the societies 

 belonging to the National Institute was held and the report of the council 

 of administration on the Institute's activity, in the year which had closed, 

 in favour of the national co-operative movement was read. From this 

 report it is learnt that in spite of difficulties resultant on the state of war, 

 which react in particular on the labour organizations, the co-operative 

 societies which had relations in 1916 with the Institute, either directly as 

 clients or indirectly by means of the consortia of the federations they re- 

 present, number 1,493, comprise 386,558 members and own a capital of 

 27,917,629 liras. Financial operations were especially concerned with the 

 execution of works of public utility, such as the construction of school build- 

 mgs, aqueducts and roads, and with works of beneficence and agriculture. 

 Last year the Institute accepted for discount 14,441 bills for 

 56,885,256.07 liras as against 12,582 bills for 42,802,768.57 liras discounted 

 m 1915. The increase was therefore one of 1,859 bills and 14,082,487.50 

 liras. 



If the variations in the situation month by month be regarded, the 

 amount of business is seen to have followed an ascending line so that the 

 paper held on the 31st of last December amounted to 18,826,334.58 liras 

 as against 11,836,110.57 liras at the end of the preceding vear, giving an 

 increase of 6,990,224.01 liras or more than half. 



Of these bills 9,782 for a total amount of 44,610,467.57 liras concern 

 cessions of mandates ; 2,375 for 3,420,208.80 liras are for commercial ope 

 rations ; 346 for 2,229.728.20 liras are for direct loans ; 369 for 2,083,372.60 



(2) Cassa Xazionalc di Pievidenta per rimalidila e la vecchiaia dc°U opera-' 



