ACTIVITIES OF LAND CREDIT INSTITUTIONS ON THE TERRITORY OF THE PENZA PROVINCE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX CENTURY
The liquidation of the serfdom led to the fact that in the second half of the 19th century the economic activity of the local nobility depended on their direct participation in the management of their land holdings and personal abilities. The profitability of their estates was determined by their economic condition, which was determined by the methods of economic activity, the availability of a sufficient amount of labor, as well as implements and equipment necessary for cultivating the land. Moreover, the faster the landowner moved on to the advanced forms of organizing his estate, the more chances he had to adapt to the capitalist changes taking place in the agrarian sphere. Of great importance in this process was the activity of land banks, which issued loans secured by land ownership. At the same time, high interest rates on loans put many landowners in difficult conditions, often forcing them to sell their holdings. Ultimately, the government returned to the practice of preferential land lending in the person of the State Noble Land Bank. The activity of land credit institutions did not pass by the Penza province, where the concentration of noble land ownership was quite significant, and the volumes of loans issued here were significant.