Current Co-operative Issues

Demutualisation Resources

An initial list of significant publications on demutualisation has been identified. Further publications will be progressively added.

Birchall, Dr. Jonston The future of co-operative and mutual businesses, 1998. This paper identifies the main features of the co-operative and mutual form of business, provides a brief outline of its history in Britain, argues that co-operatives and mutuals have been under threat from a process of demutualisation, identifies the advantages and disadvantages of co-operatives and mutuals compared to shareholding companies and assesses the ability of the sector to adapt and survive. Download Birchall paper

Building Societies Association (UK) Resources on mutuality. BSA resources on mutuality

Co-operative Development Institute, Cooperative Life and Global Co-operation. In 2005 the USA National Co-operative Bank commissioned a study to determine if Marketing Our Cooperative Advantage (MOCA) promoted successful business outcomes. These documents provide a summary and a full report.
April 2005 NCB MOCA Results Summary
March 2005 NCB MOCA Research Report

Conversion and Demutualization Canadian Co-operative Association resource list. Conversion and Demutualization Resources

Cronan, Garry The Conversion Syndrome, 1994 Download The Conversion Syndrome

Cronan, Garry Something for Nothing - Its Fabulous: An Australian Perspective on Demutualisation, 1998 Download Something for Nothing

Cronan, Garry The Principles of Mutuality - NRMA case raises some issues, Download The Principles of Mutuality

Demutualisation in Australia, Reserve Bank of Australia Bulletin, January 1999
Download report.

European Association of Co-operative Banks, Co-operative Banks in Europe: values and practices to promote development, 2004 Download Co-operative Banks in Europe: values and practices to promote development

European Association of Co-operative Banks, Corporate Governance Principles in Co-operative Banks, 2006. Founded in 1970 the Association represents, promotes and defends the common interests of the co-operative banks. Download Co-operative Governance Principles in Co-operative Banks

Galor, Zvi Tnuva - the Marketing Cooperative: Demutualization or Revival, 2006

Lafayette Federal Credit Union (USA). The Layfayette Federal Credit Union has applied to demutualise and has sought the approval of its members. A web site has been established to oppose demutualisation. The CEO of the National Co-operative Business Association, Paul Hazen, has also written an open letter to members of the credit union. Letter to members of Lafayette Federal Credit Union

Mathews, Race Dr. Credit Unions and the New Mutualism, Paper presented to the Australian Credit Union Historical Co=operative Ltd Convention, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 18 October 1997. Credit Unions and the New Mutualism

Mathews, Race Dr. Looting the Mutuals: The Ethics and Economics of Demutualisation, Background paper for an address on Succession and Continuance of Mutuals, at Mutuality 2000: Continuing And Emerging Examples Conference, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 16 June 2000 Download Looting the Mutuals

Mooney, Patrick and Gray, Thomas W Cooperative Conversion and Restructuring In Theory and Practice, United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Business - Cooperative Service, RBS research Report 185, January 2002 Download Cooperative Conversion and Restructuring In Theory and Practice

Mutuality, Association Internationale des Societes d'assurance Mutuelle, Brussels, Belgium, October 2006 Download Mutuality

Mutuality, prepared for the National Credit Union Association ltd by GOM Ltd, November 2006. Download Mutuality

Myners review of the governance of life mutuals: Final report, HM Treasury (UK), 2004 Examines the basis for good governance in life mutuals and the importance of recognising the specific attributes of life mutuals and the particular environment they operate in and what this means for how the principles of governance are interpreted and implemented. Download the Myners review

National Cooperative Business Association (USA), Proposalto House of Representatives Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee for three conditions for assuring that co-operative conversions serve the interests of members, May 2006. Download three conditions proposal

Principles regarding Credit Union Conversion, Credit Union National Association (USA) Download the Principles

Report of the All Party Group for Building Societies and Financial Mutuals, 2004
The UK Parliament's All Party Group for Building Societies and Financial Mutuals decided to conduct an inquiry into the extent that mutual financial businesses contributed to the economy and society and identify the arguments for and against the presence of mutuals in the marketplace.Download the report.

Robb, Alan J. and Crombie, Neil A. Defeating a Demutualisation: a case study, 2006. A study of the Connect Credit Union in Tasmania, Australia and its proposed demutualisation, the reaction and the tactics used to defeat the proposal.. Concludes the board had failed to remain close to the members. Download Defeating a Demutualisation.

Shermain Hardesty The Bottom Line on the Conversion of Diamond Walnut, UPDATE Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California - Giannini Foundation, Vol 8 No 6, July/August 2005
On 1 July 2005 the members of Diamond Walnut approved demutualisation. This paper focuses on the decisions the members faced when they voted on demutualisation and is limited to comparing the change in growers' status as members of a co-operative to shareholders and/.or suppliers of a stockholder-owned corporation. Download publication

Gary Lewis The Democracy Principle: Farmer Co-operatives in Twentieth Century Australia, 2006, ISBN 0-646-46587-2, 440pp,2006. Describes how farmer co-operatives originated in Australia, how they came to occupy a unique position in the Australian economy, the callenges they face including the threat of demutualisation. Further information:cfv@australia.coop

Valuing our Mutuality is an ICMIF project, led by its European regional association, ACME. The project started in 2000 to raise public awareness of mutual and cooperative insurance against demutualisations taking place in the financial sector. The research focuses on four areas: financial and business performance, the concept of mutuality, legislation and capitalisation; and demutualisation trends and post-demutualisation realities. There is an in-depth analysis of the financial performance of ninety-seven companies in eleven European countries. The reports test the financial arguments commonly advanced in favour of demutualisation and shows, with hard facts, that mutuals are generally outperforming their stock counterparts; explains the unique concept of insurance mutuality with interesting examples from member companies; looks at the long-term consequences of demutualisation and finds that the promises of increased efficiency and policyholder benefits have been largely unfulfilled; highlights legislative differences across Europe and argues the need for a mechanism that allows easier access to capital without demutualising.
Download Valuing Our Mutuality, 2001
Download Valuing Our Mutuality 11, 2002

van Bekkum, Dr. Onno F. Demutualization - Beginning of the End or Dawn for Cooperative Renewal? Presentation to the Canadian Cooperative Association, Victoria, BC, Canada, 1 February 2007. Download Onno van Bekkum paper

Webb, Tom Managing the Co-operative Difference,Presentation to the Canadian Cooperative Association, Victoria, BC, Canada, 1 February 2007 Download Tom Webb paper

Windfalls or Shortfalls: The True cost of Demutualisation, The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Building Societies & Financial Mutuals, March 2006. The report addresses these questions: Are former mutuals better than remaining mutuals at providing financial services? Is there any evidence to suggest that demutualisation has improved the performance of former societies? What effect has demutualisation had on the remaining mutual sector? How has demutualisation affected consumer choice? Have consumers benefited from demutualisation? Did the level of windfalls reflect the economic value of members' interests?
Download report