Finance, Forex and Investments

Whats the difference between commercial banks and thrift institutions?

Im in a macroeconomics class and this is a difficult concept for me. Can anyone explain this?

Public Comments

1. A thrift institution can also be referred to as a credit union, or a non-profit bank whereas a commercial bank is for profit. Theoretically with a thrift no one owns it, or the owners are the customers so either they get the profit through yearly paybacks or dividend payments. A commercial bank, the customers are not necessarily the owners (although they can be if you buy the banks stock). The goal of a commercial bank would be to return the highest profit possible to the shareholders. The goal of a thrift would be to provide the lowest possible cost to the customer. Basically, the thrift is not in it for the money, the commercial bank is.