Reading about this as we plan to move our money into a local credit union…
“Many banks and insurance companies in the U.S. are organized as “mutual companies.” A mutual company is one that is owned — and sometimes governed — by its members instead of being owned by public or private shareholders”
“After more than a century of quietly collecting deposits and making loans without the bother of shareholders clamoring for dividends and higher profits, the two savings institutions separately announced plans last month to convert from mutual, or depositor-owned, organizations to shareholder ownership.”
There are a few mutual savings banks in our area in Massachusetts… but as the quote above explains, it seems like the main problem with choosing this over a credit union is that it might go public sooner than later. EXAMPLES
See also:
Mutual savings bank – wikipedia
Credit unions in the United States – wikipedia
Erik's Blog 