Credit Unions
or co-operative banks, the members of which deposit savings, or invest in shares, and with the funds thus pooled extend credit to one another for individual, family, or business purposes. These local institutions sometimes federate into national institutions and so create powerful financial concerns, such as the Moscow Narodny (People's) Bank, which was doing a business of over a billion dollars a year before it was taken over by the Soviet Government, in 1919. In this country credit unions are of more recent origin, except in the form of building and loan associations, a form of co-operation which has existed in this country for the past two generations. The latter form of mutual credit union in that it has the specific credit differs only from the general building operations, while the credit union lends money for all purposes. Masbuilding operations, while the credit union lends money for all purposes. Mascredit unions, there being over sixty in of nearly 20,000 and assets of about credit unions, there being over sixty in CREED $2,000,000. Seven other States have followed Massachusetts in official recognition of this type of bank, while North Carolina has passed special legislation for fostering such institutions among farmers. The Russell Sage Foundation, New York City, devotes much energy to the encouragement of the formation of credit unions, and published a number of pamphlets on the subject.