Latest news with #cooperative
Irish Times
11 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How can we stop corporate gombeen men running amok again? Credit unions could be the answer
One of the pioneers of co-operative societies in Ireland, Horace Plunkett (1854-1932), established his first co-operative creamery at Ballyhahill, Limerick , in 1891. He raised the hackles of 'gombeen men', the trader money lenders who thrived on the isolation of individuals in need of finance and charged them crippling interest rates. Plunkett's efforts, helped by others such as writer and artist George William Russell and the Jesuit Fr Tom Finlay, included the establishment of agricultural credit societies, sometimes called village or land banks, of which there were 268 by 1908. They were the forerunners of the modern credit unions . Plunkett's biographer Trevor West has suggested one of his aims in reorganising rural commerce was to restore 'a sense of dignity, a spirit of self-reliance, and an air of optimism'. Fifty years later, Nora Herlihy from Cork , a teacher in Dublin from 1936, devoted to underprivileged students and disturbed by the poverty surrounding them, established an exploratory group, the Credit Union Extensive Services, at her house in Phibsborough. She encouraged a group of neighbours to form Ireland's first credit union in Donore Avenue. John Hume in Derry in the 1960s also played a key role in the credit union movement, which he regarded as one of his most important jobs. By 1975, there were 453 credit unions in operation, including 93 in Northern Ireland , performing, in the words of Plunkett, 'the apparent miracle of giving solvency to a community composed almost entirely of insolvent individuals'. At the time of Herlihy's death in 1988 there were almost one million members in more than 500 branches; today, credit unions affiliated to the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU), under one of its slogans, 'For Living, Not Profit', have 3.6 million members throughout Ireland. READ MORE Credit unions worked in spite of initial official scepticism. The Irish banking commission in 1938 was dismissive of the idea the State could perform any useful function in relation to co-operative agricultural credit, while the much lauded blueprint Economic Development by TK Whitaker in 1958 asserted that 'history affords no support for the belief that co-operative credit societies can be successfully established'. With the Credit Union Act of 1966, however, came statutory recognition of the co-operative concept. This week, as Allied Irish Bank reverted to full private ownership, it was revealed mortgage lending by credit unions i ncreased by 34 per cent to €632 million in the three months to the end of March, compared with the same period last year. The total credit union loan book now stands at €6.08 billion, its highest since 2008. ILCU chief executive David Malone said the group was 'eagerly awaiting' changes to the Central Bank's lending rules, which could see credit unions treble their mortgage lending from the current cap of €1.9 billion on the back of a proposed new loan limit of 30 per cent of total credit union assets on house lending. Malone has made much of harnessing the 'collective might' of the credit unions: 'We get our funding from our members' savings. We don't have corporate shareholders, and we are not subject to quarterly results forecasts.' Some within the credit union movement will have reservations about such expansion, given the historic rootedness of the credit unions in the community, dealing with smaller scale financing. However, with the stranglehold of the pillar banks on mortgage lending, it is surely a positive to see member-owned financial institutions making inroads in this area. [ How AIB went from boom to bust and back again Opens in new window ] This week AIB stated it 'profoundly regrets that the institution had to be rescued by the State almost two decades ago and owes an immense debt of gratitude to Irish taxpayers for the support provided during that challenging time.' Indeed it does. AIB recorded a profit after tax of €2.35 billion last year; its new mortgage lending was up 14 per cent to €4.5 billion, reflecting a mortgage market share of 36 per cent, while total new lending increased by 17 per cent to €14.5 billion. Last year, AIB and Bank of Ireland had a combined mortgage market share of more than 75 per cent while credit unions held less than 1 per cent. Corporate gombeen men ran amok during the Celtic Tiger . The Irish banking management culture was reprehensible in relation to customer charges, interest rates, facilitation of tax evasion and calamitous risk taking. Patrick Honohan , governor of the Central Bank from 2009 to 2015, subsequently wrote Currency, Credit and Crisis: Central Banking in Ireland and Europe (2019) , highlighting an enduring culture of corporate entitlement, limited capacity 'to achieve decisive reforms of culture', deferential regulators, lenient responses to abuses, and a Central Bank that had been far too passive. Theologist and philosopher Gabriel Flynn summed up the consequences: with 'the banking sector dominating societal decisions or overriding other community considerations, the inevitable result is an infringement of human dignity'. It is to be hoped that a greater role for credit unions might lead to a diluting of such violations.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
French grain group Axereal's CEO steps down
PARIS, June 17 (Reuters) - French grain cooperative Axereal's chief executive Paul-Yves L'Anthoen stepped down last week, the group confirmed on Tuesday, declining to give reasons for his departure or details on a successor. L'Anthoën had led Axereal since 2017. The cooperative is one of France's largest grain groups, collecting and processing 4.4 million tonnes of grain and generating close to 4 billion euros ($4.62 billion) in annual sales. ($1 = 0.8656 euros)
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Blue Diamond Growers to close plant in California
Blue Diamond Growers, a cooperative of almond growers in the US, is to shut and sell its plant in midtown Sacramento, California. In a bid to "streamline" operations, the group said it will move 'most' of its manufacturing operations at the over 50-acre facility to its sites in Turlock and Salida, California. Blue Diamond Growers added that the relocation positions its processing operations closer to many of its farmer-owners and 'enhances its footprint in the region'. 'The challenges of running a plant from these historical buildings has become too costly and inefficient," said Kai Bockmann, president and CEO of Blue Diamond Growers. "Streamlining our manufacturing plants is the right business move to further strengthen our market-leading position and bring increased value to our grower members.' The transition will start later this year, with approximately 10% of plant employees exiting initially, Bockmann added. The full process will take place in phases over the next 18 to 24 months, with roughly 600 people being affected by the closure. Bockmann said: 'Even though most employees will not leave this year, we want to be transparent and tell our people as soon as possible. We are committed to putting in the energy, time and resources to help our impacted team members.' Set up in 1910, Blue Diamond Growers represents nearly 3,000 of California's almond growers and employs around 1,400 people across its processing plants. Blue Diamond said it would offer incentives for employees to stay during the transition, alongside severance and outplacement services for the impacted positions. Some team members will also be given the choice to work at other locations. The group's corporate office is expected to remain in Sacramento. "Blue Diamond Growers to close plant in California" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Free Malaysia Today
13-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Submit financials first, PM tells police coop on aid for debts
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said if the cooperative performs with the new projects, the government will consider allowing it to take on more projects next year. KUALA LUMPUR : Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has asked the police cooperative to submit a detailed report on its financial performance before the government considers ways to help it reduce the debts of its subsidiary, Unikop College. Speaking at Koperasi PDRM Bhd's 90th annual general delegates meeting here today, Anwar said the government would monitor the cooperative's performance. 'I will approve two or three projects for the cooperative. But I want to see a report from the cooperative and the home ministry first. 'We will look at how it can work with the finance ministry to find alternatives and ensure that the cooperative can generate profits,' he said. Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said if the cooperative performed with the new projects, the government would consider allowing it to take on more projects next year. 'But it must prove its efficiency.' He said the government preferred to provide cost-effective projects instead of handing out financial grants. He added that the government could not write off all of Unikop College's debts, but would assess its performance over the next few years. Bukit Aman management department director Azmi Abu Kassim said that Unikop College's debts dated back to 2018, stemming from poor decisions that led to losses and leakage. However, he did not disclose the amount of the debt.
Forbes
07-06-2025
- Forbes
Hanging Gardens And Vines In The Castle: An Italian Dream Turned Into Reality
A view of the official presentation of the vineyard on the terrace of the castle. They have been sister cities since 1963, and one was named after the other. Despite being thousands of miles apart and one being renowned worldwide, the other has something that no one else in the world owns. What am I talking about? Cupertino (US, CA) and Copertino (Italy). The first, famous for being the capital of high tech was named after Saint Joseph of Copertino. He was a Franciscan friar born just in Copertino, and is revered as the patron saint of aviators, travelers and students. Many things connect these two places, but the small Italian Copertino boasts a treasure unique in the world. A vineyard on the terrace of a castle. Copertino is a picturesque town that has a magnificent fortress that was built in the 16th century. It is considered one of the most impressive defensive structures from the Italian Renaissance. Located in a famous wine region, the town also hosts a cooperative winery, founded in 1935 by some thirty wine-growers. This year, the 350 members who cultivate 400 hectares of vines are celebrating the first 90 years of their cooperative. The grapes are mostly local: Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, Malvasia Bianca, Primitivo, and some international grapes that have found homes in these places for a long time. But there is also a particular variety of Negroamaro, the Negoramaro Cannellino, that is cultivated in a quite unusual place: the outside walkway of the castle. Actually, it's a kind of "back to the roots". In the past, the upper parts of the castle ramparts, walls, and communication trenches were used as hanging gardens, where people cultivated citrus trees, vineyards, and olive trees, useful in case of siege for the self-support of the inhabitants. Over time, though, as circumstances changed, the usefulness of those crops came to an end, and they were abandoned and then forgotten… Until 2013. The vineyard on the rampart of the castle That year, the Cupertinum cooperative president Francesco Trono submitted to the local authorities an original project: 'We had verified with the archival sources that in the past, the walkways were cultivated – explained Francesco Trono– and thus proposed to restore at least the vineyards in that place. They accepted our idea with enthusiasm.' Indeed, it is a one-of-a-kind project: it has no precedent either in Italy or abroad. "The 'vineyard on the castle' enhances the most original aspects of the culture and crops of Salento Copertino – Trono claimed - It is no by chance that the Copertino DOC bottles produced by our winery bear the castle's portal as their emblem on the label, while the Igt Salento bottles of wine are dedicated to Squarciafico and Spinello dei Falconi, two noble families who lived in the castle." So, after many years, the vineyard returned on the communication trenches. In April 2014, they planted 100 vines of Negroamaro Cannellino, an ancient and early variety. The training system follows the oldest winegrowing tradition in Salento, the Apulian alberello, which calls for the vines to grow as isolated plants, without the aid of supports or palisades. It develops into a compact and lower form, generally not more than one meter in height. This choice allows the plants to make maximum use of the soil's water and nutrients resources, particularly important in the poor soils and arid climates typical of Apulia. Even the arrangement of rows is a reminder of the past: the vines are planted according to the quincunx, an order used by the Romans. A bottle of "Copertino Rosso Riserva" and the entrance of the castle. Today, this vineyard is regarded as the first and only vineyard on a fortress in the world, and the moment of pruning is always a time of celebration for the castle and the Cupertinum winery. Although the Castle is always open to visits, the vineyard can be visited only a few times a year, during moments of wine-tourism (such as "Calici di Stelle" in August) or cultural days chosen by the castle management. The wine made with the grapes from the vineyard is ready yet, unfortunately. Once they can produce it, it will be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to support a land enhancement project. However, the headquarter of the Cupertinum winery is not far from here. If you decide to visit the wonderful Salento region and Copertino, I recommend tasting some of their wines. The full-bodied and fruity "Copertino Rosso Riserva DOC", made with Negroamaro grapes in purity, is a deep ruby red wine with an intense bouquet of blackberry, plum, ripe fruits, and a warm flavor with hints of almond and black currant. The mouth-watering freshness of their pink wine "Spinello dei Falconi Salento IGT Rosato", from Negroamaro grapes vinified in rosè, with its bright and charming coral color and flavors of cherries, redberries, and wild rose, is a great wine for summer dishes and carefree drinking. An authentic taste of old Apulia with a contemporary twist. Elisabetta Tosi
