Other co-operative enterprise sectors
Finance
Mutuals
Mutuals are financial institutions such as building societies and insurance companies organised along essentially co-operative lines (customers must be members, and they provide the capital of the business - there are no external shareholders, and members all have one vote).
Although many mutuals have voted to abandon that status in past years (the most recent being Standard Life), the sector is still strong in Scotland - represented by such well-known institutions as the Dunfermline Building Society. Collectively, the 12 mutuals operating in Scotland have an estimated current business portfolio of 1.9 million policies, covering an estimated one million Scottish members.
Credit unions
Credit unions - savings and loan co-operatives - have a much stronger presence in Scotland than in the rest of the UK.
There are 127 credit unions in Scotland, with more than 206,000 members, a combined loan portfolio of £130m and assets of £185m.
Four major credit unions in Scotland - Capital, Glasgow Council, Scottish Postal Workers and Scotwest - were amongst the first in the UK to offer banking services in late 2006.
Consumer co-operation
The Co-operative Group also has a major presence in financial services in Scotland through its ownership of The Co-operative Bank and CIS Insurance.
More info
CDS Factsheet: Financial services (PDF 2200kb)
Building Societies Association website
Association of Friendly Societies website
Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL) website
Scottish League of Credit Unions website
World Council of Credit Unions