400 PROVISION OF BORROWING FACILITIES. 



savings deposits of members and non-members, tends to remain with 

 them for long pariods. Should a sudden call come, which thev are 

 unable to meet out of their immediate resources, their solvency is 

 practically assured through their central bank ; in the last resort only 

 would they be obliged to exercise the right, which they reserve, to call 

 in loans. 



No English agricultural credit society established under the 

 Friendly Societies Act the small number existing have all been 

 established under this Act may grant on loan to any member, to be 

 held at any one time, a total exceeding 50. German registered credit 

 societies are only restricted to the extent that every society must fix, 

 for each year by resolution of a general meeting of members, the 

 maximum of the total advances that individuals may hold at any one 

 time. Some societies fix this maximum at a very high figure 

 occasionally up to 5,000 and more ; a large number of societies do 

 not allow the committee alone to grant the maximum thus authorised, 

 but require the additional assent of the board of supervision, and often 

 fix a lower figure for the committee alone. The advantage of this 

 facility is that societies are enabled to adapt their credit business to 

 the needs of their members and to the state of development of their 

 own resources. The actual amount of credit extended to individuals is, 

 of course, dependent on the standing, character, and other security 

 furnished by each applicant and the bulk of the loans granted by 

 rural societies are for sums not exceeding 50. Taking as fairly 

 representative of German rural credit societies the 4,000 societies now 

 attached to the Federation founded by RAIFFEISEN, it is found that, 

 in the years 1908, 1909 and 1910, about 45 per cent, of their 

 loans outstanding, which totalled 360,000 to 376,000 (1910), 

 were for sums up to 15, a further 16 per cent, for sums over 

 15 up to 25, and a further 17 per cent, for sums over 25 up to 

 50. Ten per cent, of the total were for sums over 100. 



It is sometimes contended in England that, as farmers have a con- 

 siderable reluctance to letting neighbours know that they require 

 credit, they are not likely to borrow from a credit society. Practi- 

 cally considered, such objection should carry little weight. *If a 

 small farmer borrows from a bank he must explain his position and 

 bring usually two sureties. These sureties are generally his neighbours 

 and the occasion often the market day, when other neighbours also 

 travel to the particular town. And banking offices in small towns 



