WI: The Templar Knights Starts Micro Credit?

[Berra]

The idea about micro credit is popular right now. It even got a Nobel prize. So what if the Knight Templars got into this buissniss. They dont need to target women.

[carlton_bach]

Microcredit is about as old as the hills, and the Templars would probably have thought it infra dig. There was a thriving business of this kind in medieval Europe. Of course modern microfinance tends to think big in scale and diversify, allowing low interest rates. Medieval microcredit was small-scale, concentrated, and high-risk, and operated in an environment that was capital-poor, thus having to compete with other lucrative investments. Hence the very high interest rates.

The Templars would have opened a big can of trouble that way. Aside from the fact that that kind of thing was not at all considered proper (it had been confined to Jews for a long time and even thogh that had changed in the 1200s, it was still not the kind of thing a good Christian nobleman touched with a bargepole), lending to anyone's serf or bondsman could have been considered an infringement of rights. Citydwelling payers of head-tax (Censuals) might be allowed to take up loans on their own, but rural dependents certainly would be required to turn to their lord for capital. City governments would certainly worry about a powerful external force entering with loans, especially if they are made to undercut present lenders. The degree of political dependency created like that would be a big headache. And the kings of Europe might not take kindly to the idea of the business being tasken from the Jews, whom they could tax at their discretion without regard for law and custom.

[Smaug]

I read about this today, and its an interesting concept. I do agree that it would fall under usury, and not be well thought of at the time.

The Knights did seem to find a loophole around thier money transfers though. (Or was that the strart of thier end, other than Islam?)