People's Banks
The co-operative banks of Europe, otherwise called "People's Banks," are essentially savings banks, in that they depend for their working capital upon the accumulated savings of their members. The aims of these banks are first economic, to enable the economically weak to make themselves financially strong by the power of combination; second, moral, to bring the members together in a unity of interests and to develop character by making thrift and good habits the groundwork of their operations; third, educational, to train in business methods and in the handling of money those whose scope has been narrow and whose experiences have been few in this regard.
In the establishment of these banks, the cardinal rules have been: Maximum of responsibility, minimum of risk, maximum of publicity. To secure the maximum of responsibility, unlimited liability has been accepted by the members in many cases; that is, each one pledging his all for the good of all; and, second, to secure the minimum of risk, character is made the basis of membership and good habits the prime requisite for membership. No investments are made in speculative enterprises, and the purposes for which the money is borrowed are closely inquired into and due care taken that the funds shall be applied for such purposes only. To secure the maximum of publicity the action of the bank in all matters is given the widest publicity possible in order that the work may have public inspection.
The result of these simple rules has been that the poor have proven as good, if not better, creditors than the rich; for once losing credit they can never regain it except by the slow process of years of good behavior.
The great pioneers in the "People's Banks" were Raiffeisen and Schulze-Delitzsch. They fully appreciated that any system that would succeed must descend to the level of its beneficiaries and they have admirably adapted the co-operative idea of banking.