It is basically the cooperative model that distinguishes a caisse from a bank. While a bank is owned and administered by a few shareholders, a caisse belongs to its members.

As a member of a caisse, you can participate in its management and receive a portion of its financial surpluses in the form of dividends when the results allow it.

	Caisse	Bank
Its nature	Financial Services Cooperative	Private institution
Its owners	Members of the Caisse	Some shareholders
Its objective	The economic and social well-being of all its members and the economic development of its community, for example by: sponsoring an event donating money to a community organization awarding scholarships	Enriching its shareholders
Its management	Each caisse populaire is administered by community leaders who are elected by the members	The bank is managed by the head office, which is often located outside the city of its clients
Participation in the Annual General Meeting and Vote	All members may participate in the annual general meeting of their credit union, vote and nominate themselves for election as officers. One member = one vote	Only shareholders attend the bank’s annual general meeting One share = one vote
Distribution of surplus cash	Returns a portion of its surplus earnings to members and the community in the form of dividends, when the results allow it	Distributes a portion of its profits to a small group of shareholders in the form of dividends