Church funds used for credit in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century rural Sweden

Private lenders are still considered to have been the dominant lenders inthe eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, although various types ofinstitutional lenders appeared from the late 1700s onwards. This paperanalyses one of the earlier and probably underestimated institutionallenders in northern Europe, the Church, using Sweden as a case study.As late as 1834, the Swedish church lent about the same amount ofmoney as all other credit institutions combined. Using a governmentsurvey from 1857 with data from 400 parishes, and accounts from 14parishes 1770–1890, we can show that all parishes had funds, withabout 80–90 per cent of the capital in loans. The funds were growing insize and lending was extensive, primarily for constructing new churchbuildings. However, the funds also played an important role in the localeconomy. The largest funds and most extensive lending were found inareas with landed estates and high levels of urbanisation, while funds inpoorer areas were considered to be poor relief funds. Lending fromchurch funds declined after the 1860s, but not rapidly. The church wasprobably seen as an attractive option when money was needed, locatedclose by and controlled by the parishioners.