Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Credit union
(1,166 words)

1. Definition and development

Credit unions or savings societies (German: Sparvereine) are voluntary collective institutions for the provision of smaller loans to poorer layers of the population. Their origins lie in the box clubs of 17th- and 18th-century England and Ireland [5]; [8]. In the early days these societies bore features of  provident funds, as the deposited money was often allocated or supplemented by better-off members. Repay…

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Prinz, Michael, “Credit union”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_027745>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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