ORGANISATION OF SAVINGS BANKS AND THE INVESTMENT OF THEIR CAPITAL 83 



Of 36,000,000 crs. invested in bonds, 20,386,290.63 crowns (43.02 % 

 of the assets of the postal banks) were represented by mortgage bonds 

 of the General Mortgage Bank of Sweden, the rest by coninmnal and railway 

 bonds. Five mortgage loans were made for the sum of 1,245,000 crowns, 

 so that nearly half the capital invested by the banks was directly or indirectly 

 set apart to satisfy, through the Mortgage Bank, the requirements of 

 real estate, in great part, it may be said, of rural real estate (i). 



§ 4. People's banks. 



Less important as receivers of the people's savings than the ordinary 

 and postal savings banks are the People's Banks {Solidaroska Folkbanker). 



In consequence of the new law of 1903, which gives the name of bank 

 solely to those institutions the regulations of which have been approved by 

 Royal Decree, the people^s banks, have been obliged to change their 

 denomination for those of Credit Associations, People's Institutes, Savings 

 Institutes etc. 



Unhke the ordinary savings banks, these people's banks are not in- 

 stitutions of public utiHty, nor do they limit themselves to receiving sav- 

 ings; they receive deposits at long maturity and open current accounts with 

 issue of cheques. There are 17 institutions which discount bills of exchange. 



Their regulations, like those of the savings banks, must be approved by 

 the provincial administrations. 



At the end of 1910, there were 23 people's banks, of which two were urban 

 and 21 rural ; there were 18,394 depositors, whose savings amounted to 

 7,528,000 crowns. The minimum for deposits is fixed by the bank at from 

 25 ore to one crown, and in general there is no fixed maximum for the amount 

 entered in each book. 



The average rate of interest for 1910 was 4.428 %, lower therefore than 

 that paid by the ordinary savings banks, and higher than that paid by 

 postal banks. 



The average credit in 1910 for each book, 409.28 crowns, is lower than 

 the average amount deposited in the ordinary savings bank books, and 

 higher than that in the postal bank books. 



The savings deposited in the people's banks form 63.4 of their capital. 



The nature of the transactions of these banks has an influence on the 

 different investments, as shown in the following table. 



(i) See in the Bulletin of Economic and Social Institutions, no. 11. November, 1913, an art- 

 icle by H. J. Dannfelt, on Agricultural Credit in Sweden. § 2: The General Mortgage Bank, 

 its Organisation and Work. 



