Talk:Savings and loan association

Starting this entry

I was hopeing that people would come buy with some more research on this subject. I can fake my way through most parts, but I'm most familiar with the organization and its style of operation than I am with the actual failures. I suppose this is a good time for me to read up on that.

--Mtgops 01:00, Aug 5, 2004 (UTC)

Some more information about how these differ from Credit Unions or regular banks would be nice.

Mutual savings banks and Savings and Loan associations differ somewhat in both ideology and function. Mutual savings banks were started as philanthropic endeavors to provide the working classes with financial stability. S&Ls began in the 1830s to provide access to home ownership. They initially functioned much more like fraternal associations than like "banks."

Early mutual savings banks considered it important to emphasize their dissemblance from S&Ls and other thrift institutions, because they did not have commercial components to their business.

In the UK this type of institution is called a building society. There may be merit in a merger of all three pages, but a proper analysis and discussion of the fundamental diffences in constitution would be in order before that was done. For instance may types of banking institution offer deposit accounts, loan accounts, mortgages etc. but not all can be called banks. Building societies are mutually owned and technically non-profit making instituions. The reality is though they act in in a very similar way to commercial enterprises in most respects. However, they cannot be caled "banks" as a point of law due to their mutual status. simonthebold 12:20, 26 September 2006 (UTC)