Metadata: Jewish Credit Cooperative Union (Riga)
Collection
- Country:
- Latvia
- Holding institution:
- Latvian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs
- Postal address:
- 16 Slokas Street, Rīga, 1048
- Phone number:
- +371 20 017 505
- Reference number:
- 6549
- Title:
- Jewish Credit Cooperative Union (Riga)
- Title (official language):
- Ebreju kredītkooperatīvu savienība (Rīga)
- Creator/accumulator:
- Jewish Credit Cooperative Union (Riga)
- Date(s):
- 1922/1940
- Language:
- Latvian
- Russian
- Yiddish
- English
- German
- Extent:
- 245 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Scope and content:
- The collection contains documents of the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union in Riga including statutes of the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union and Savings and Loan Society, performance reviews; circulars on the convocation of meetings of the Union, loans, amendments to the charter, etc.; materials of the meetings of the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union; activity and financial reports; materials of the conference of the central cooperative organisation of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia (1933); correspondence of the Union and credit societies with the American Joint Distribution Committee and its branches in Paris and Berlin on lending, the establishment of credit societies; correspondence with credit societies, the Ministry of Finance and others on amendments to the charter, the merger of companies, the provision of state benefits and other banking operations; annual reviews of activities and balances; extracts on turnover from correspondent books of credit societies; correspondence on the liquidation of the Union, re-control book, cash books, statistical information on deposits, commissions, etc.; salary lists sent to the health insurance fund; requests from credit societies for membership in the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union; materials on audits carried out by the Union in credit societies; minutes of audits of credit societies carried out by the banking department of the Ministry of Finance; customer requests for loans; accounting books of credit societies; book of expenses of credit societies; incoming and outgoing documents; balances, draft budget; minutes of meetings; statistical information on changes in the number of members of credit societies included in the Union, capital turnover, intermediary operations, income, expenses, budget; correspondence with Liepaja savings and loan societies of small traders and artisans about the opening of branches in Kuldiga and Aizpute, granting loans and other financial issues, minutes of general meetings of these credit societies; minutes of meetings of the board and council of the Union; reports and statistics on the activities of credit societies; minutes of meetings of the audit commission; correspondence with credit societies and cash offices of the Union from Riga and the provinces about their activities, settlements with banks, etc.; correspondence with the state economic department on the approval of the charter; credit book, etc.
- Archival history:
- After World War II materials from the interwar period, along with earlier materials, were part of the Central State Archive of the Latvian SSR. In 1962 it was decided to reorganise the archive and it was renamed the Central State Historical Archives of the Latvian SSR. The materials predating the period of Soviet rule were deposited in this archive, predecessor of the current State Historical Archive.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The assistance of the American Joint Distribution Committee (the “Joint”) made it possible for Jews to develop a network of cooperative credit societies for artisans and small tradesmen. The central institution, the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union, was headed by Dr. Isaak Yoffe, a gifted organiser. Credit cooperatives developed well, and their financial situation was stable. More than 15,000 members were registered in Jewish credit cooperative societies. Business was conducted on a sound business basis in accordance with the express stipulations of the “Joint”. According to 1931 data, the fixed capital of Jewish cooperatives was 22.9%, deposits 65%, and loans 3.8%. The main source of loans was the Latvian state bank, but Jewish cooperatives received 3.8% of loans, while Latvian cooperatives received 57.3%, indicating discrimination against Jewish enterprises.
The Riga newspaper "Segodnya" (“Today” in Russian) of 26 May 1931 reports that the 8th conference of the Jewish Credit Cooperative Union took place in the Union building on 23 Kalku Street. The conference was attended by about 60 people - members of the council, board and audit commission of the Union, representatives of Riga credit cooperatives, as well as delegates from Liepaja, Jelgava, Daugavpils, Rezekne and other cities in the province. The chairman of the board, Dr. Yoffe, made a presentation on the activities of the Union in 1930. As another speaker, Mr. Goffenberg, said, "Jewish credit cooperatives are growing from year to year and have already exceeded the pre-war level. For the Union, which unites 23 credit cooperatives with 11,000 members, the past year was a year of hard work. By January 1, 1931, the balance of cooperatives included to the Union, increased by 24%, and reached 5.9 million lats. It should be noted that the working capital did not increase due to state loans which, with a balance of 6 million lats, amounted to only 153.000 lats, or due to bank loans. The increase was due to deposits and shares, which serves as a proof of confidence in credit cooperation on the part of the general public and, in particular, small depositors.”
- Access points: locations:
- Riga
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Jana Makarova