You can almost sense faint embarrassment, perhaps even a hint of regret, when Europe's co-operative banks talk about "earnings". The term "dividend" is certainly taboo; instead, euphemisms about "member benefits" abound. Disdain for notions like profit made mutuals, which do not have shareholders to please and are owned by their customers, look boring in the boom. But many have put their more capitalist-minded brethren to shame during the downturn.
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