 Caja Laboral-Euskadiko Kutxa not only played an important role in the creation of the Mondragon Corporation, but also in its development.For five decades, its "Companies Division" acted as a promoter for new co-operatives.In the seventies, the union gave loans with benefits to the cooperatives that were in difficulties due to the reorganizing of the basque industry and the two energy crisis in 1973 and 1979 when unemployment rates were up to 20% in the Basque Country.