savings and loan association


noun

a cooperative savings institution, chartered and regulated by a state or the federal government, that receives deposits in exchange for shares of ownership and invests its funds chiefly in loans secured by first mortgages on homes.
Also called building and loan association, cooperative bank; British, building society.

Words nearby savings and loan association

British Dictionary definitions for building and loan association

savings and loan association

noun

a US name for a building society

Cultural definitions for building and loan association

savings and loan association

A financial institution that resembles a bank but that historically did not offer services such as personal checking accounts and that invested capital mainly in home mortgages. In the late 1970s, Congress passed legislation freeing savings and loan associations (often called S) from their traditional dependency on home mortgage loans. In response, S invested their capital, often unwisely, in a range of enterprises, especially real estate. In the late 1980s, hundreds of S went bankrupt, leaving the federal government, which insured the accounts of depositors, with an enormous bill. Since then they have been subject to tighter regulation.