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Community banking models
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<p>Community banking is a non-traditional form of money-lending. Unlike <a href="/facts/Bank/l7VsKwas">banks</a> or other classic lending institutions, the funds that community banks lend to borrowers are gathered by the local community itself. This tends to mean that the individuals in a neighborhood or group have more control over who is receiving the <a href="/facts/Financial_capital/xlkBpxfD">capital</a> and how that capital is being spent. This practice has existed in some form for centuries; in ancient <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a>, for example, when grain was often used as currency, local granaries would store and distribute the community’s food supply. Since that time, a variety of community banking models have evolved. </p>