POPUr^AR CREDIT 85 



The interest paid by the co-operative societies on deposits is as a rule 

 between 5 and 8 %. 



The rate of interest on loans is certainly very high ; yet it must not 

 be forgotten that the peasants, long oppressed by usurers, all the same find it 

 to their advantage, as is witnessed by their resorting to the co-operative 

 credit societies in ever greater number. 



Besides the popular credit co-operative institutions and the popular 

 credit organizations of old type, there are also in Russia the Zemstvo 

 popular credit banks , a detailed accoimt of which was given in the number 

 of this Bulletin for September, 1912. 



The Zemstvo Banks are central organizations for granting credit to the 

 co-operative societies. Among these banks some also lend to private in- 

 dividuals, but this extension of their sphere of action has not failed to arouse 

 serious objections. On January ist., 1912 there were 107 of these banks 

 and the}'- showed on their balance sheets a total of 26,956,000 roubles. 



