Spain: ‘Coop 57″, an alternative financial tool

The environment-friendly organised ?Ecologistas en Acción? has recently presented in Madrid the local branch of a co-operative called ?Coop 57?, which was born in Catalonia ten years ago and which extended to the Autonomous Community of Aragón in 2005. In Madrid, ?Coop 57? currently gathers 25 organisations from different fields with a view to promoting a financial model based on ethics, solidarity and self-management that represents an alternative to traditional banks. The aim of ?Coop 57? is offering loans and subsidies for the co-operative partners to be able to develop feasible projects that rest on ethics, corporate responsibility, sustainable development and the respect for labour rights and serve the society. The partners themselves will decide which projects to fund, which will have to contribute to building a new model of market, a social network that allow people to have a direct control on what is done with their savings. Participant organisations are previously subjected to an evaluation report so that it can be proved that they truly comply with the requirements of solidarity and corporate responsibility. ?Coop 57? is also opened to private individuals who have to contribute 300 eur per year at least. In Catalonia and Aragon ?Coop 57? awarded loans that amounted to 2,2 million eur in 2006. More information on: www.coop57.coop