Agriculture is a key activity in Sri Lanka, but is mainly practiced by poor smallholders who farm very small parcels of land. Plus, farm yields are subject to unstable weather conditions and wide price fluctuations that threaten farmers’ incomes. Under such conditions, crop insurance is seen as essential to safeguarding farmer assets. But, to make […]
Finnish Cooperative Banks Shape Their Own Destiny
Cooperative banks are hugely important in Finland, with a combined market share of over one-third, one of the highest in Europe. The cooperative banking sector in the country was shaken up in the 1990s, when a minority of banks split from the central cooperative banking group, OP Group. They formed their own competing cooperative banking […]
Peace of Mind in a Time of Mourning Thanks to Loan Life Insurance
In West Africa, two million families are now protected by an innovative and advantageous loan life insurance product. This product was developed by the Confederation of Financial Institutions of West Africa (CIF) and its six member networks of financial cooperatives, including the PAMÉCAS network in Senegal, in collaboration with Développement international Desjardins (DID) and Desjardins […]
Another type of banking
A bank whose operations are as wide-ranging as those of Bank Rakyat can afford to change the way it does business. In 2003, 49 years after its foundation, Malaysias Bank Rakyat, one of Asias largest co-operative banks, embraced an operating system based on Shariah (Islamic legal) principles. Since then Bank Rakyat has been able to further extend its operations to the Malaysian islands of Sabah and Sarawak. Bank Rakyat is driven by […]
The Almería Agricultural Cooperative Model: Building successful economic and social communities
In 1955, the Andalucían province of Almería, in southeastern Spain, was a drought-ridden area with little infrastructure and a GDP per capita of less than half the national average. Most residents who had not already fled in search of better opportunities were merely subsisting. Today, it is the top Spanish fruit and vegetable growing area […]
CAJAMAR, Cajas Rurales Unidas
Cajamar Caja Rural (soon to change to Cajas Rurales Unidas), is a credit cooperative bank formed by the merging of the credit cooperatives (cajas rurales) of Andalucía (Almería and Málaga in 2000), Murcia (Campo de Cartagena in 1989), Madrid (Grumeco in 2000), Castilla y León (Caja Rural del Duero in 2007), Baleares (Caixa Rural de […]
Closing the Gender Gap in Cooperative Banking
Italy lags behind almost every other European country when it comes to womens employment. Employment rates for men are more than 20 percentage points higher than those for women. And women represent only 4 percent of company board members, the second-lowest rate in Western Europe, even though on average Italian women are better educated than […]
Take Two Credit Lines and Call Me in the Morning
Since 1985 Coopemedicos has prescribed financial services to the medical providers of Costa Rica. The credit unions critical care ensures that these practitioners can focus on patient health not financial stress. Coopemedicos offers its members a full pharmacy of treatments for a myriad of monetary ills. Savings accounts, credit, loans and mutual funds maintain a […]
Cooperativa de Ahorro, Crèdito y Servicios Mùltiples de los Mèdicos
Coopermedicos was formed on September 29th, 1984. In May 1985 it was registered with the Department of Social Organizations of the Ministry of Work and Social Security under resolution number 678. Its aim is to improve the economic, social and cultural conditions of its members. According to the cooperatives statute, membership is reserved exclusively for […]
A home of their own thanks to housing finance
“Owning our own home gives us peace of mind and makes life easier,” explains Alimatou Diakité, a member of the Réseau des caisses populaires du Burkina Faso (RCPB). Home ownership is an essential development tool for societies and a dream around the world. Healthy and durable housing provides a foundation for building up family assets, […]