igi2.] History of Scawby Credit Society. 



829 



a guarantee limited to £100 for any sums that might be due 

 to the Bank by the Society. Under this guarantee the Society 

 obtained funds from the Bank, and at one time its over-draft 

 amounted to £94, but for the last two years, owing to the 

 growth of deposits, it has not required to over-draw its account 

 at the Bank, and has generally had a balance to its credit. 

 The Bank charges 5 per cent, on overdrafts, and allows 2 per 

 cent, on current account credit balances. 



The Society also offered to take deposits at 3 per cent, 

 interest, and at the end of the first year had obtained in this 

 way £39, but by the end of 19 10 it had so gained the con- 

 fidence of the villagers that the amount on deposit with the 

 Society at 3 per cent, had mounted up to £186, including a 

 considerable sum deposited by the village Dividend Society, 

 formed of working people. Deposits must be left with the 

 Society for a period of not less than three months, and one 

 month's notice must be given of withdrawal; and the Society 

 retains the right to return any surplus of deposits it does not 

 require, on giving one month's notice to the depositor. 



The main object of the Society is to make loans to its 

 members for profitable purposes at a low rate of interest. 

 The first loan granted was one of ^30 to a small-holder to 

 enable him to buy lambs to consume feed, the full profit of 

 which he would not otherwise have obtained, and was made 

 repayable in 8 months. In the first year only 2 loans were 

 granted, in the next 1, and in the third 2, but the number 

 of loans gradually increased, and in 1910 6 loans were made, 

 aggregating ^175. During the last 16 years the Society 

 has made to its members 78 loans, aggregating ^2,300, and 

 averaging nearly £30, the smallest loan being and the 

 largest £$o, which is the maximum loan allowed by the 

 Act. At first the Society charged 5 per cent, per annum 

 interest on loans, but it soon raised this rate to 6 per cent, 

 in order to build up a reserve fund. When that object had 

 been attained, it 3 years ago reduced the rate to 5 per cent., 

 at which rate its members can now obtain from the Society 

 the capital they require for their agricultural operations. 



Loans to members must be expended on some specific 

 purpose, approved by the Committee as likely tc be profit- 

 able to the borrowing member. The purposes for which 



