Challenges and Opportunities: Mutual Banks

Mutual savings banks have had a tough time the last several decades. Their ranks have been reduced by roughly one-third during the last 10 years, mostly due to stock conversions or failures. What got started as a philanthropic endeavor in the early part of the 19th century and grew to considerable prominence in the banking industry, mutual savings banks now are fewer in number, have multiple challenges and are little understood. But they also have advantages that continue to draw proponents to this day. Mutuals do not have stock holders. Instead, the owners of the mutual are its depositors. Because...