Comment by graemep

> The trick is that it doesn't "feel like" a co-op, for most customers it's just a normal shop with an unusual ownership structure.

People know what it is, and there are other similar cooperatives too. They have over 5 million members so a reasonable proportion of customers must be members. if you regularly use one its silly not to be a member.

> The financial co-operatives, the building societies, fell victim to "carpetbaggers" in the 90s who encouraged members to vote for proposals to convert to traditional for-profit structures and get bought out by other banks

Yes, that was damaging good institutions for a one off profit from people who joined just for that profit. A number did survive. Nationwide is the biggest, but there are a few others around.

One of the things that differentiates them from shareholder owned banks is that they are keeping branches open.