What Is a Thrift Bank?
A thrift bank—also just called a thrift—is a type of financial institution that specializes in offering savings accounts and originating home mortgages for consumers. Thrift banks are also sometimes referred to as Savings and Loan Associations (S&Ls). Thrift banks differ from larger commercial banks, like Wells Fargo or Bank of America, because they usually offer higher yields on savings accounts and provide limited lending services to businesses.
While a thrifts' core offerings are traditional savings accounts and home loan origination, these institutions also offer checking accounts, personal and car loans, and credit cards for consumers. However, they give primary attention to home financing for single-family residences. Thrifts are structured either as corporate entities that are owned by their shareholders, or they are mutually owned (i.e., owned by their borrowers and depositors).
Key Takeaways
- A thrift bank—also called a Savings and Loan Association (S&L)—is a type of financial institution that specializes in offering savings accounts and originating home mortgages for consumers.
- While a thrifts' core offerings are traditional savings accounts and home loanorigination, these institutions also offer checking accounts, personal and car loans, and credit cards for consumers.
- In the years since the Savings and Loan Crisis—which occurred between 1986 and 1995)—many structural changes have been made to thrift banks that have blurred some of the distinctions between them and conventional banks.
History of Thrift Banks
The thrift institution began with the establishment of the customer-owned building society in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the 18th century. In the U.S., the first successor to the U.K.'s customer-owned building society was referred to as Savings and Loan Associations (S&Ls). One of the main impetuses for the founding of S&Ls in the U.S. was to make improvements to the market for mortgages in the U.S.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the typical U.S. mortgage was a five-to-10-year, interest-only loan that had to be refinanced or paid off with a large balloon payment at the end of the term. Homeowners often defaulted on these payments, especially as levels of unemployment rose during the Great Depression as levels of unemployment rose.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover passed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, an Act that was aimed at encouraging homeownership by providing member banks with a source of low-cost funds for use in extending mortgage loans. This act was the first in a series of bills that sought to make homeownership a more achievable goal for more Americans in the first half of the 20th century.
In addition, as a result of this act the Federal Home Loan Bank Board was created. This Board was tasked with facilitating the development of a secondary market for mortgages; it created S&Ls to issue those mortgages.
The Impact of Thrift Banks
One of the major impacts of thrift banks—coupled with a mortgage insurance program created by the Veterans Administration in 1944–was the facilitation of home purchases in the aftermath of WWII. Many young war veterans and their families were able to purchase homes in the suburbs because of these federal programs.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the majority of mortgages were issued through thrifts and S&Ls. As a result of these institutions, and other federal programs, rates of homeownership in the U.S. rose significantly between 1940 and 1980.
By law, loans to commercial businesses can account for no more than 20% of a thrift bank's business.
During the Savings and Loan Crisis, which occurred between 1986 and 1995, many thrift institutions and S&Ls failed. While analysts have come up with a number of explanations for the huge decline in the industry, in general, the failure has been attributed to poor lending practices.
In the years since the Crisis, many structural changes have been made to thrift banks that have blurred some of the distinctions between them and conventional banks. TheFinancial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989(FIRREA) had a significant impact on the S&L and thrift industry.
In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act eliminated some of the key advantages of thrifts, such as less stringent regulations than those applied to major banks. The commitment of the thrifts to serving consumers continues, however. The most important purpose of S&Ls is still to makemortgage loanson residential property.
What Are Some Types of Thrift Banks?
Thrift banks include savings banks, private development banks, and stock savings and loan associations.
What Is the Difference Between Thrift Banks and Commercial Banks?
Thrift banks operate similarly to traditional banks, but they are designed to serve consumers rather than businesses. In other words, thrifts primarily offer consumer accounts and loans, while commercial banks also offer financial services to businesses. Thriftsare generally smaller, local institutions and don't have the reach and resources of large banks with branches nationwide. However, thrift banks are increasingly offering the same services as commercial banks, creating less of a distinction between the two.
What Are Mutual Savings Banks?
Many thrift banks are also mutual savings banks, meaning that account holders are also shareholders of the bank. In this sense, mutual banks are similar to credit unions, but the main difference between mutual banks and credit unions is that the former are for-profit, while the latter are nonprofit.
The Bottom Line
Commercial banks, thrift banks, and credit unions are the three major types of depository institutions in the United States.
Thrift banks, also known as savings and loans associations (S&Ls), or simply thrifts, are financial institutions primarily funded by consumer deposits. A thrift specializes in offering savings accounts and originating home mortgages for consumers.
Thrifts also offer many of the same services as commercial banks, including debit and credit cards and savings and checking accounts.
