| dc.description.abstract | The study is a continuation of an analysis of operation of the credit unions of the Fryde- ryk W. Reiffeisen type,
whose activity on the Polish territories was initiated by Dr Franciszek Stefczyk under the Austrian occupation in
1890. In free Poland those unions were called Stefczyk’s Savings and Loan Banks in recognition of his merits.
Apart from the change of name, their status and terms of operation also changed. The previous unlimited financial
liability of the co-operatives was superseded by liability with the members’ shares. The scope of activities was
expanded beyond savings and loans. The support of the state was limited, and while it retained its share in the
initial capital of the central bank of those co-operatives, it withdrew its contribution to cover part of the
administrative costs. Although the nontransferability of member shares, the indivisibility of the initial capital,
the low interest rate of the credits, and the rules of determining and distributing dividends were confirmed, the
increasing costs caused broadening the commercialisation of the activities of the cooperatives. Nevertheless, they
kept their nature of credit institutions for small and medium- size farms. For that reason they did not expand
considerably in the territories dominated by high-volume of specialised farming (Greater Poland). In 1938,
Stefczyk’s credit unions gathered about 20% of peasant farm owners, the amount of their deposits in the central
fund was over 7 million zlotys, the credit balance was circa 3.3 million zlotys, while the members’ savings were
close to 1.2 million zlotys. Stefczyk’s credit unions also fulfilled an important role in the dissemination of
knowledge of the savings and loan rules among the members of the social group which was most handicapped, thus
protecting them against usury and negatively influencing the interest rates on the private credit market. Their
strongest enemy proved to be the instability of currency, which was practically unknown before 1914, and which
under the new circumstances questioned the sense of saving. For that reason, small producers outside of fanning
sustained serious losses, and it was actually they who most often deposited their surplus cash in Stefczyk’s
credit unions, through which the working capital was supplied to farmers. | en_EN |
