> I'm not thinking of something like a credit union, rather something quite different
I'd guess from reading the comments that US-style credit unions are not common outside the US.
If you came up with a radical new banking product that has the characteristic of, say, reducing fee income, credit unions might be the best place to launch it. As you can see from other comments, transparency tools probably fit this category.
Generally, however, I think there is a lot of potential in organizations outside the "investor owned corporation" sphere. A co-op ISP, for example.
Anywhere there are perverse incentives for investor owned enterprises there is room for different structures.
Adding open source client software and high transparency in operations for a credit union could provide an incremental improvement over the basic idea of depositor-owned banks. But features like a "social investing profile' if that's what you are getting at, would be applicable to any bank's customers.
I'd guess from reading the comments that US-style credit unions are not common outside the US.
If you came up with a radical new banking product that has the characteristic of, say, reducing fee income, credit unions might be the best place to launch it. As you can see from other comments, transparency tools probably fit this category.
Generally, however, I think there is a lot of potential in organizations outside the "investor owned corporation" sphere. A co-op ISP, for example.
Anywhere there are perverse incentives for investor owned enterprises there is room for different structures.
Adding open source client software and high transparency in operations for a credit union could provide an incremental improvement over the basic idea of depositor-owned banks. But features like a "social investing profile' if that's what you are getting at, would be applicable to any bank's customers.