Coöper at i on IN CREDIT

Union of a group of persons, each contributing a small amount of capital, which when com bined may be loaned to one of their own number on interest which is divided among all. Such contributions and loans are made each month by all the group, and in this form such bodies are called building societies or coöperative banks. Or they may consist of persons joining together and making themselves liable for the authorized purchases by one of their number; in this form, more common in Germany, as the former is in the U. S., they are called raw-material societies, or coöperative loan societies.