Post by IVENS SIGNORINI

The Swiss priest Theodor Amstad (9 November 1851 - 7 November 1938) arrived in Brazil in 1885 and worked closely with German-speaking Catholic immigrants in the southern region of the country during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Arriving amidst a wave of European Jesuit exiles, Amstad witnessed the severe economic isolation and harsh exploitation faced at the time by these rural settlers in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Drawing inspiration from European credit union models - specifically the Raiffeisen system - he sought to build a framework for mutual aid. On December 28, 1902, Father Theodor Amstad brought together 19 local farmers to establish the “Caixa de Economias e Empréstimos Amstad” - which would later become famous as the “Caixa Rural de Nova Petrópolis”. This historic initiative became the very first cooperative credit institution in Latin America, laying the foundational blueprint for agricultural self-sufficiency and financial solidarity across the region.   From these modest historical roots, that single rural initiative evolved over the next century into the direct ancestor of today's Sistema de Crédito Cooperativo - SICREDI. As the cooperative grew, it transformed into a massive, decentralized network of over 100 credit unions operating more than 2,500 branches across Brazil. Today, it is completely owned by its nearly 10 million member-owners, consolidating its position as one of the country's largest financial entities and its second-largest financier of agribusiness. To strengthen its global reach and risk management, SICREDI formed a strategic partnership in 2010 with the Dutch cooperative banking giant Rabobank, which holds a 30 percent minority stake in SICREDI's central banking arm.   Financially, SICREDI now stands as a titan within the Brazilian banking sector, boasting total assets of approximately €73 billion and a credit portfolio of roughly €46 billion. True to its roots, a massive €19 billion share of that portfolio is directly funneled back into supporting agribusiness and sustainable food systems. The cooperative model remains highly profitable yet deeply ethical, generating lately an annual net profit of €1.2 billion. Demonstrating that Father Amstad's original vision of mutual aid is thriving, SICREDI returned €540 million of those profits directly back to its members and local communities. Last but not least, it is worth mentioning that by Law 12.620 of 2012, October 28 became the National Credit Cooperativism Day in Brazil. It celebrates the foundation of Latin America's first credit cooperative of Nova Petrópolis, reinforcing the importance of an economic and social model based on collaboration, solidarity and sustainable development.