Healthy Money Healthy Planet - library.uniteddiversity.coop

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community. The profits are redistributed locally by the owners, whether the institution is
a trust that gives away money to community groups or, in the case of a co­operatively
owned institution like New Zealand’s PSIS, to the members themselves. Since all major
trading banks in New Zealand are now owned overseas, most dividends leave the country.
The exceptions are the TSB Bank and Kiwibank; in the case of the former, the community
trust that owns it creates jobs within Taranaki and also distributes money to community
services and facilities within the area.
Community Banking Around the World
There are numerous successful community banks in operation in various countries, some
of which I focus on here.
Mondragon Co­operative Bank, Spain
For those seeking new approaches to local economic development and job creation, the
Mondragon in its original form offered one of the most exciting models of this century. (I
understand that with the march of globalisation, Mondragon has now changed to embrace
many of the less desirable traits of conventional business.)
Begun in 1956, the Mondragon Co­operative Corporation in Spain is owned by
30,000 employees, and has its own bank, university, 109 factories and a food retail chain.
The total assets of the bank as at 2000 were put at more than US$13 billion and annual
sales exceeded US$6 billion. 21 Mondragon has a built­in facility to provide strong support
for small businesses, including ‘godfathers’ or business mentors, and it puts everything
possible in place to ensure that the businesses it lends to don’t fail. On the occasion of the
bank’s 50th anniversary in 1995, the United Nations chose it as one of the 50 best social
economic projects in the world.