Mutuals are a form of co-operative which exist to benefit their own members. Typically they fall into three groups:-
- Credit Unions
- Building Societies
- Mutual Insurers
Their chief characteristic is that their main business is internal transactions between members.
However, some other co-ops have mutual characteristics, such as farmers co-ops which provide supplies to, and market the goods of, member farmers.
The largest Building Society in Wales, the Principality is a typical Mutual. It is the 8th largest Building Society in the UK with over 400,000 members and nearly £6 billion in assets. Building Societies are represented by the Building Societies Association www.bsa.org.uk/
More details at:- www.principality.co.uk
The largest Mutual Insurer operating in Wales is NFU Mutual. They are represented by the Association of Financial Mutuals www.financialmutuals.org
More details at:- www.nfumutual.co.uk/index.htm
Farmers Co-ops in Wales are represented by the Welsh Agricultural Organisations Society, which was founded in 1922. They can be contacted via WFSBorder, a large farmer owned co-operative in Aberystwyth.
More details at:-http://wfsborder.com/default.aspx
