From the course: Foundations of Business Banking

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What is the difference between a bank and a credit union?

What is the difference between a bank and a credit union?

From the course: Foundations of Business Banking

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What is the difference between a bank and a credit union?

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- Both banks and credit unions accept money from depositors and make loans to individuals and businesses. Now, the key difference between the two is that a bank is a for-profit business owned by partners or shareholders. Whereas a credit union is a cooperative run for the benefit of its members. The best number I can find is that there are 25,000 banks around the world. This is 25,000 banking companies not just 25,000 bank branches. There are about 1.5 million separate bank branches. Now, according to the world council of credit unions, there are 86,000 credit unions located in 118 countries with a total of 291 million members. I myself have money deposited in a credit union, UCCU, which stands for Utah Community Credit Union. UCCU illustrates the aggressive transformation of many credit unions in the United States. My credit union started in 1977 as a cooperative of seven faculty members from my home university, Brigham…

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