Abstract:
This study seeks to determine the role of the credit cooperative in the socioeconomic
development of the people by analyzing its provision of loans. The study
concentrated on the amount of loans granted and on the types of loans granted. The
study covered the period from 1995 to 1997. Survey was done in order to determine
the people’s perception of the credit cooperative as a whole.
This study focused on the credit cooperative of San Miguel , Bulacan - the St.
Joseph Credit Cooperative, Inc., this cooperative was chosen because it is the largest
and most established cooperative in the said community. Majority of the members of
the cooperative are small-scale businessmen and women usually sari-sari store owners,
although there are also a number of middle class members.
Analysis of the loans granted in the period of three years yielded the trend that
the highest amount of loans given were for regular loans which are usually used for
capital. The amount of these loans have been growing in the past three years. While
data gathered from respondents show that the most valued loans were educational and
emergency loans. Moreover, loans were significant catalysts for improving the income
generated by the members because they are able to augment the inadequacies of their
income especially during emergency situations or in situations when big amounts of
money are readily needed, e.g. , for tuition fees.
This study concludes that the credit cooperative is a viable financial institution
that promotes the socio-economic development of the people by virtue of the loans
granted which can be used for productive and provident at a low cost of money for the
borrower. In line with this, the researcher gave recommendations for promoting the
expansion and progress of the cooperative.
