INSTITUTE OF CREDIT AND NATIONAL BANK OF RURAI, FUNDS II 



was recently created in the affiliated society at Bologna in response to de- 

 sires expressed at the National Congress of Agrarian Co-operative Societies, 

 held in Milan last December (i). This aims at regulating credit for agricul- 

 tural co-operation, which is destined, especially in North Italy, to have a 

 « great future when it has been completed and directed by such an organism 

 ■ as this office at Bologna proposes to become, one fitted assiduously and 

 perseveringly to watch over the technique and administration of the 

 agricultural undertakings of the consortia. 



Finally this Institute's balance-sheet of 31 December 1916, that namely 

 for its third year, contained the following as its most important items : 

 ay Among liabilities : subscribed capital 8,200,000 liras ; reserve 64,953 

 liras : fund for inspecting offices 10,716 liras ; interest-bearing current ac- 

 counts 3,496,111 liras ; bonds bearing interest at fixed dates 6,797 liras ; 

 clients and correspondents 3,625,981 liras ; simple current accounts 341,191 

 liras ; rediscounted bills 8,925,837 liras. h) Among assets : in hand 274,743 

 liras ; paper 18,826,334 liras '> public bills belonging to the Institute 2,456,651 

 liras ; balance of subscribed shares 1,840,000 liras ; banks and correspon- 

 dents 2,667,770 liras. 



The year's net profits reached 296,728 liras, of which 63,645 liras were 

 appropriated to the reserve fund which was thus raised to a total of 128,598 

 liras. 



§ 2. The INSTITUTE OF CREDIT FOR CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETIES. 



This Institute, organized in the form of a limited liability society, was 

 founded as has been said, in 1904 on the initiative of the Societa Umanitaria 

 and with the collaboration of the greatest popular banks and some co-ope- 

 rative societies. Its object is (article 3 of the by-laws) to " take part in 

 the development of co-operative societies of production, labour, consump- 

 tion and credit which profit the labourers, employees, peasants and me- 

 tayers and the small labourer proprietors, facilitating the working of these 

 societies by the means of credit ". To this end the Institute undertakes the 

 following business : a) it discounts for co-operative societies bills having two 

 signatures, cheques, notes of pledges, certified notes of work, accepted bills, 

 and mandates of public and private administrations known to be solvent ; 

 b) it grants loans or makes advances to co-operative societies on pledged 

 securities or pledged credit or in return for the cession of mandates of pub- 

 lic or private administrations ; c) it receives deposits of savings of not less 

 than 10 liras and pays interest on them at the rate of 3 34 P^^ cent, net ; 

 it receives deposits of sums on open current account at 2 ^4 P^^ cent, net ; 

 it issues interest-bearing bonds having fixed terms ; and it makes recoveries 

 and payments on behalf of co-operative societies, etc. 



On 31 December 1916 its share capital was 1,624,500 liras made up of 



(i) See our issue for March 191 7, page 30. 



