Talk:Mutual organization

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)

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)

A discussion of the difference between co-ops and mutuals is entirely appropriate to the introduction -

The fundamental technical difference between cooperative and mutual associations is that 'cooperatives' are democratically directed in their actions toward mutual societal benefit by a generally smaller and constitutionally-limited number of executive board members, democratically-elected, periodically, from among their members; they may be open or closed in membership; while 'mutuals' are democratically directed by a generally larger number of founding or board-selected permanent executive board members, chosen for their personal commitment to the organization's original purpose of mutual societal benefit; the general membership of a 'mutual' is nearly always open to all, or all in a specified region or group. Many nations prescribe a minimum legal number of 'mutual' board members, often 50 or more. Thus, a 'mutual' may be more difficult to form, and more unwieldy in its operation, but is more stable, sustainable and much less likely to be detoured from its original intent, than is a 'cooperative'. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Theguardian777 (talk • contribs) 10:46, 20 August 2013 (UTC)