Banking on Cooperation

By Lee Egerstrom, Economic Development Fellow, January 17, 2012 at 1:30 pm

Thrivent Financial Bank is "half way home" to being a member-owned, member-governed cooperative credit union and wants to "complete the journey," its president and chief executive officer explains after reports that the Thrivent bank is seeking regulatory approval for the conversion.

The bank is a subsidiary of the member-owned Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. The conversion to a credit union will simply make both the parent and the subsidiary member-owned and democratically controlled, said Todd Sipe, the president and CEO. 

Minnesota 2020 likes the route Thrivent is taking. We've advocated for member-owned co-op, credit unions and mutuals, which are all considered cooperatives in international business literature but are incorporated under different business codes in the United States. We see the need for more such enterprises to rebuild the U.S. and Minnesota economies with business ventures that have members and community best interests at heart.

Sipe said small banks and credit unions have become popular after the financial crisis linked to large banks that lead to the Great Recession. That is not a consideration behind Thrivent's seeking regulatory approval to become a credit union, however. He doubts any Thrivent financial institution or program was mistakenly thought of as a large Wall Street or multinational bank.

"This just aligns the bank with the member owners," he said.  

Thrivent is essentially a mutual insurance organization started to serve Lutherans anywhere. It evolved and grew over time, including starting banking services that are open to everyone regardless of faith affiliations.

Posted in Fiscal Policy | Related Topics: Co-ops  Financial Industry  Personal Finance