Talk:Mutual organization

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Merged in Mutual

I merged in the contents of the Mutual article, mostly by creating a section called Background to hold the info. A previous editor had suggested a merger, but from Mutual organization to Mutual. I commented about 11 days ago that a merger was a good idea, but it should use the article with the more explicit name as the base. There was no discussion, so I did it. 2*6 03:36, 2 January 2007 (UTC)

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Dubious

very confusing- "Unlike a true cooperative, members usually do not contribute to the capital of the company by direct investment, but derive their right to profits and votes through their customer relationship. A mutual organization or society is often simply referred to as a mutual."

How is a credit union and savings and loan NOT ownership by direct investment?

-RAKO

I realize this comment is almost 2 years old, and the original poster is probably no longer watching this page, but for those who DO stumble onto this discussion: Customers of S&Ls and credit unions do not direcly invest in the institution in which they deposit their funds (i.e. they do not become equity shareholders of the organizations). Rather, they are customers of the services offered by the institutions, and derive their rights to profits through that customer relationship. The difference is somewhat subtle, but important. When one deposits funds in an S&L or CU, one assumes no risk with one's capital (other than that of the institution failing completely, which is insured anyway). If members were assuming the risk associated with owning equity shares, that would be direct investment. WikiDan61^ChatMe!_ReadMe!! 12:32, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

However, a credit union is a true cooperative, at least it is claimed to by by federations like ACE and WOCCU.

Though I am sure some will disagree, it is normally considered that all cooperatives are mutual organizations. The difference between co-ops and mutuals is quite subtle, and is probably not appropriate for the introduction. I suggest we just deleted the sentence that RAKO disputed.

--Hroðulf (or Hrothulf) (Talk) 09:42, 28 November 2009 (UTC)

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Last modified on 10 December 2009, at 16:12