Many banks are publicly held corporations. Their principal goal is to make money for their stockholders. Today's thrifts offer checking accounts and make business and consumer loans as well as mortgages. They can be either federal or state chartered. While there are some differences between savings banks and savings and loan associations in terms of how they are set up, Congress has removed all differences between the federally chartered facilities as to the kinds of loans and investments they can make.
Credit unions are nonprofit, cooperative financial institutions.
Credit unions often offer higher interest on deposit products than banks or thrifts. Credit unions also have a tendency to offer loans at lower rates. Credit unions are exempt from federal taxation. Click here for information on finding and joining a credit union. Online banks, banks that are strictly online and have no brick and mortar branches, often offer higher rates on deposit products.