From Credit Cooperatives to Cooperative Bank in Slovenia

Abstract

The cooperative movement in Slovenia began with credit cooperatives which successfully solved the indebtedness problem of numerous farmers in the second half of the nineteenth century. In the period between the two world wars, the cooperative movement was divided according to political lines and was seriously affected by the economic depression in the 1930s. After the Second World War, all credit cooperatives were administratively wound up and never resumed their activity as grass root organisations. Their mission was continued for a very short period by the second level cooperatives of agricultural cooperatives in the 1950s, and after another break, lasting one decade, by the savings and loan services of agricultural cooperatives. Since the banks were permitted to carry out a wider range of banking services than savings and loan services, these services, their Union and agricultural and forestry cooperatives founded the Slovenska zadružna kmetijska banka d.d. (Slovenian Agricultural Cooperative Bank Ltd) in 1990. In the view of Slovenia’s adhesion to the European Union, stricter banking legislation standards were implemented and nearly all savings and loan services transferred their banking activity and assets to the Slovenian Agricultural Cooperative Bank Ltd which had been meanwhile renamed as Deželna banka Slovenije d.d. (Country Bank of Slovenia Ltd). In return, the former Union of savings and loan services which transformed itself into a cooperative named Kapitalska zadruga, became the largest shareholder of Deželna banka Slovenije Ltd.