Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 A Movement Takes Shape, 1831–1899
- 2 The Rise of the League, 1900–1929
- 3 From State to Federal Oversight
- 4 The Movement Becomes an Industry, 1930–1945
- 5 The Glory Years, 1946–1955
- 6 External Challenges and Internal Divisions, 1956–1966
- 7 Lost Opportunities, 1967–1979
- 8 Deregulation and Disaster, 1979–1988
- 9 Resolving the Crisis, Restoring the Confidence, 1989–1995
- 10 The American Savings and Loan Industry in Perspective
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - The Rise of the League, 1900–1929
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 October 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 A Movement Takes Shape, 1831–1899
- 2 The Rise of the League, 1900–1929
- 3 From State to Federal Oversight
- 4 The Movement Becomes an Industry, 1930–1945
- 5 The Glory Years, 1946–1955
- 6 External Challenges and Internal Divisions, 1956–1966
- 7 Lost Opportunities, 1967–1979
- 8 Deregulation and Disaster, 1979–1988
- 9 Resolving the Crisis, Restoring the Confidence, 1989–1995
- 10 The American Savings and Loan Industry in Perspective
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
By the turn of the twentieth century, the “nationals” crisis was over and the thrift movement faced the challenge of restoring its image and returning to prosperity. At the forefront of these efforts was the movement's trade association, the United States League of Local Building and Loan Associations. The League focused on three major objectives. The first and most important was to repair the damage caused by the nationals crisis and to reestablish the role of B&Ls in promoting the ideals of thrift and home ownership. Elements of Progressive era reform movements partially aided this effort, since improving urban housing conditions was also a goal of these social reformers. A second objective focused on generating greater advertising and publicity for the movement. The League advised associations on useful advertising methods, encouraged their participation in national promotions of thrift and home ownership, and took steps to build better relations with housing-related industries. The final objective of the League was launching programs to help create a more professional public image for the movement. These initiatives, which met with varying degrees of success, included formal education classes for thrift managers, creation of more uniform business practices and lending systems, and efforts to encourage the modernization of the physical appearance of B&Ls.
These efforts, combined with economic prosperity and increased consumerism in the 1920s, helped the B&L movement recover fully and emerge as an important source of consumer finance.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- From Buildings and Loans to Bail-OutsA History of the American Savings and Loan Industry, 1831–1995, pp. 40 - 68Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004