Journal of Co-operative Studies, 38(1), 5-19

Abstract

A credit union is a financial co-operative that is owned and controlled by its members tor their benefit and the local community. The origins of the movement can be traced back to Rochdale in Great Britain, from where it spread to Central Europe, the North American Continent and the rest of the World. The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers served as a precedent and inspiration to many co-operative societies around the world. There are a number of factors that have assisted the development of credit unions — economic hardship, the co-operative movement, the influence of several pioneers, and a credit union legislative framework. It is these factors that this paper concentrates upon, in three differing credit union jurisdictions — Great Britain,  the Republic of Ireland and the United States of America.