Economy of the Central Union of Economic Cooperatives [Ústřední jednota hospodářských družstev] in the First Quarter of its Existence (1896-1918)[Hospodářské výsledky Ústřední jednoty hospodářských družstev v prvním čtvrtstoletí jejího trvání (1896-1918)]

The Central Union of Economic Cooperatives established in 1896 as Central Union of Economic Companies was the biggest cooperative centre in Cisleithania and aptly complemented the Monarchy's credit system by controlling national finances; it considerably influenced also economic life of rural and partly of urban communities. Through its focus on agricultural production particularly processing and distribution the Union became national economic basis for countryside. Its importance during the World War I increased more in context of provisioning the Monarchy rear, above all Cisleithania.The following statistics demonstrate importance of the Central Union within borders of Cisleithania: at the end of the 20th century first decade the Central Union partook in number of Raiffeisenbanks in Cisleithania between 26-27 % and almost 20 % share of number of members, almost 18 % share of lending ready money, nearly 16 % of bank credits and more than 18 % of turnover. The second most significant union of economic companies became the German Zentralverband der deutschen landwirtschaftlichen Genossenschaften Böhmens, G.m.b.H, Královské Vinohrady (Prague).The members of the board of directors and prominent officials were not the only one who contributed to the achieved results but also the leading management and Central Union's political contacts in Bohemia and Vienna.