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Private company

JAK Members Bank

Logo: Hsikter, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons4

Swedisih cooperative bank

The JAK Members Bank, or JAK Medlemsbank, is a cooperative, member-owned financial institution based in Skövde, Sweden, and based on a concept that arose in Denmark in 1931. JAK is an acronym for Jord Arbete Kapital in Swedish or Land Labour Capital, the factors of production in classical economics. A membership of approximately 39,000 (as of December 2015) dictates the Bank's policies and direction.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1965Founded1
  • Industryfinancial services1
  • HeadquartersSkövde1
  • Websitejak.se
  • Legal formMedlemsbank1
  • LEI549300LQR5JY5EOLWS353
  • StatusActive3
  • LEI statusIssued and current3
  • Registered addressBox 216, 541 25 Skövde, Sweden3
  • Registered withSwedish Companies Registration Office, 516401-99693

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The JAK Members Bank, or JAK Medlemsbank, is a cooperative, member-owned financial institution based in Skövde, Sweden, and based on a concept that arose in Denmark in 1931. JAK is an acronym for Jord Arbete Kapital in Swedish or Land Labour Capital, the factors of production in classical economics. A membership of approximately 39,000 (as of December 2015) dictates the Bank's policies and direction. The Board of Directors is elected annually by members, who are each allowed only one share in the bank. All of the bank's activities occur outside of the capital market as its loans are financed solely by member savings. Administrative and developmental costs are paid for by membership and loans.2

The story

The co-operative society Jord Arbejde Kapital was founded in Denmark during the Great Depression in 1931. The society issued a popular local currency which was subsequently outlawed by the Danish government in 1933. In 1934 it founded an interest-free savings and loan system and a Local Exchange Trading System. Though both systems were forced to close, the savings and loan system re-emerged in 1944. The experience of JAK-banking in Denmark inspired a group in Sweden to develop a non-profit organisation named Jord Arbete Kapital - Riksförening för Ekonomisk Frigörelse (National Association for Economic Emancipation) in 1965. This pioneers' group developed a mathematical system based on Saving Points, designated the "balanced saving system". The association grew slowly at first. In 1997, a legislative amendment required the association to receive a banking license from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in order to continue operating as a financial institution, which was granted in that year. The bank's deposits are insured by the government.

From Wikipedia’s article on JAK Members Bank, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5

Timeline

  1. 1965Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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