~ Shared Interest ~

When the young people conducted the service on the theme of Trade Justice before Christmas, I wondered how many of those of us on the high road to our hyacinths, maybe with a bit of spare capital, know about Shared Interest.

Shared Interest is a lending society that aims to reduce poverty in the less developed parts of the world by providing fair and just financial services to finance fair trade, some of it by microcredit and some of it by finance to larger organisations such as Traidcraft.  It gets the money to lend from accounts opened by members of the public.  It has no affiliations to any religious group.  OK, so it is vulnerable to the charge that it is complicit in importing capitalism to the developing world, but I’m afraid it’s getting there anyway, and isn’t it better to lend on fair terms than leave people prey to loan sharks?

Shared Interest Society Limited is not a bank, and capital invested with it is not guaranteed to be safe, although their track record since they began in 1990 is very good.  Interest is paid, but at a rate below inflation and both these aspects make it unsuitable for people who need to preserve all their capital or need investment income to live on.  However, for those who have money they don’t need immediately but don’t want to give away at this stage, and want to make it work in a more generous way than that expression usually implies, it’s an option worth considering.

Further info: www.shared-interest.com, or phone 0191-233-9100 for an information pack.

                                                               Gwyneth Heritage Roberts