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 linecommercial 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 