JAK Members Bank
The JAK Members Bank, or JAK Medlemsbank, is a cooperative, member-owned financial institution based in Skövde, Sweden, and based on a concept that arose in Denmark in 1931. ''JAK'' is an acronym for ''Jord Arbete Kapital'' in Swedish or ''Land Labour Capital'', the factors of production in classical economics. A membership of approximately 39,000 (as of December 2015) dictates the Bank's policies and direction. The Board of Directors is elected annually by members, who are each allowed only one share in the bank. JAK Members Bank does not offer any interest on saved money. All of the bank's activities occur outside of the capital market as its loans are financed solely by member savings. Administrative and developmental costs are paid for by membership and loans. JAK banking employs the "Saving Points" system: members accumulate Saving Points during saving periods and use them when applying for a loan. The concept is that one is allowed to take out a loan for oneself to the sam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Financial Institution
Financial institutions, sometimes called banking institutions, are business entities that provide services as intermediaries for different types of financial monetary transactions. Broadly speaking, there are three major types of financial institutions: # Depository institutions – deposit-taking institutions that accept and manage deposits and make loans, including banks, building societies, credit unions, trust companies, and mortgage loan companies; # Contractual institutions – insurance companies and pension funds # Investment institutions – investment banks, underwriters, and other different types of financial entities managing investments. Financial institutions can be distinguished broadly into two categories according to ownership structure: * Commercial banks * Cooperative banks Some experts see a trend toward homogenisation of financial institutions, meaning a tendency to invest in similar areas and have similar business strategies. A consequence of this might ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority
Financial Supervisory Authority ( sv, Finansinspektionen, FI) is the Swedish government agency responsible for financial regulation in Sweden. It is responsible for the oversight, regulation and authorisation of financial markets and their participants. The agency falls under the Swedish Ministry of Finance and regulates all organisations that provide financial services in Sweden. History FI was formed 1991 to create a single integrated regulator covering banking, securities, and insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ... in Sweden. This was done with the merging of the former banking and insurance supervisory bodies, the Bank Inspectorate ( sv, Bankinspektionen) and the Insurance Supervision Authority ( sv, Försäkringsinspektionen). Responsibilities FI's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cooperative Banking In Europe
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-controlled enterprise".Statement on the Cooperative Identity. ''.'' Cooperatives are democratically controlled by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors. Cooperatives may include: * es owned and man ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ethical Banking
An ethical bank, also known as a social, alternative, civic, or sustainable bank, is a bank concerned with the social and environmental impacts of its investments and loans. The ethical banking movement includes: ethical investment, Impact investing, impact investment, socially responsible investment, corporate social responsibility, and is also related to such movements as the fair trade movement, ethical consumerism, and social enterprise. Other areas of ethical consumerism, such as fair trade labelling, have comprehensive codes and regulations which must be adhered to in order to be certified. Ethical banking has not developed to this point; because of this it is difficult to create a concrete definition that distinguishes ethical banks from conventional banks. Ethical banks are regulated by the same authorities as traditional banks and have to abide by the same rules. While there are differences between ethical banks, they do share a desire to uphold principles in the projects ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Freiwirtschaft
(German for "free economy") is an economic idea founded by Silvio Gesell in 1916. He called it ' (natural economic order). In 1932, a group of Swiss businessmen used his ideas to found the WIR Bank (WIR). Structure Freiwirtschaft consists of three central aspects, usually summed up as the Three Fs: * ' (free money) ** All money is issued for a ''limited'' period by ''constant'' value (neither inflation, nor deflation). ** Long-term saving requires investment in bonds or stocks. * ' (free land) ** All land is commonly owned or else the property of public institutions and can only be rented from the community or from government, respectively, not purchased (''see also Georgism''). * ' (free trade) History The basic economic ideas of Freiwirtschaft were published in 1890 by the Hungarian-Austrian economist Theodor Hertzka in his novel ''Freiland - ein soziales Zukunftsbild'' (''Freeland - A Social Anticipation''). Flaws of the monetary system Freiwirtschaft claims that curre ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Banks Of Sweden
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because banks play an important role in financial stability and the economy of a country, most jurisdictions exercise a high degree of regulation over banks. Most countries have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking, under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, the Basel Accords. Banking in its modern sense evolved in the fourteenth century in the prosperous cities of Renaissance Italy but in many ways functioned as a continuation of ideas and concepts of credit and lending that had their roots in the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Banks Established In 1965
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because banks play an important role in financial stability and the economy of a country, most jurisdictions exercise a high degree of regulation over banks. Most countries have institutionalized a system known as fractional reserve banking, under which banks hold liquid assets equal to only a portion of their current liabilities. In addition to other regulations intended to ensure liquidity, banks are generally subject to minimum capital requirements based on an international set of capital standards, the Basel Accords. Banking in its modern sense evolved in the fourteenth century in the prosperous cities of Renaissance Italy but in many ways functioned as a continuation of ideas and concepts of credit and lending that had their roots in the anc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Microfinance Companies
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings account, savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other services. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient.Christen, Robert Peck Christen; Rosenberg, Richard; Jayadeva, Veena. ''Financial institutions with a double-bottom line: Implications for the future of microfinance''. CGAP, Occasional Papers series, July 2004, pp. 2–3. ID Ghana is an example of a microfinance institution. Microfinance initially had a limited definition: the provision of microloans to poor entrepreneurs and small businesses lacking access to credit. The two main mechanism ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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WIR Bank
The WIR Bank, formerly the Swiss Economic Circle (German: ''Wirtschaftsring-Genossenschaft''), or WIR, is an independent complementary currency system in Switzerland that serves businesses in hospitality, construction, manufacturing, retail and professional services. WIR issues and manages a private currency, called the WIR franc, which is used in combination with the Swiss franc to generate dual-currency transactions. System The WIR franc is an electronic currency reflected in clients' trade accounts and so there is no paper money. The intentions of starting were in increased sales, cash flow and profits for a qualified participant. WIR created a credit system which issues credit, in WIR francs, to its members. The credit lines are secured by members pledging assets which ensures that the currency is asset-backed. When two members enter into a transaction with both Swiss francs and WIR francs it reduces the amount of cash needed by the buyer; the seller does not discount it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grameen Bank
Grameen Bank ( bn, গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক) is a microfinance organisation and community development bank founded in Bangladesh. It makes small loans (known as microcredit or "grameencredit") to the impoverished without requiring collateral. Grameen Bank originated in 1976, in the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus at University of Chittagong, who launched a research project to study how to design a credit delivery system to provide banking services to the rural poor. In October 1983 the Grameen Bank was authorised by national legislation to operate as an independent bank. The bank grew significantly between 2003 and 2007. As of January 2011, the total borrowers of the bank number 8.4 million, and 97% of those are women. In 1998 the Bank's "Low-cost Housing Program" won a World Habitat Award. In 2006, the bank and its founder, Muhammad Yunus, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. History Muhammad Yunus was inspired during the Bangladesh famine o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Word Of Mouth
Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a story about a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and traditions transmitted by word of mouth through successive generations. Storytelling and oral tradition are forms of word of mouth that play important roles in folklore and mythology. Another example of oral communication is oral history—the recording, preservation and interpretation of historical information, based on the personal experiences and opinions of the speaker. Oral history preservation is the field that deals with the care and upkeep of oral history materials collected by word of mouth, whatever format they may be in. Storytelling Storytelling often involves improvisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |